Warriors: The end of the clans: The breeze
by ifsmith
Summary: This is the second story in 'the end of the clans'. There will be a lot of Echobreeze this book, so that's why it's called "The breeze". Rated T because I think all warriors fanfics should be rated T for good measure.
1. Chapter 1

A cat with a white fluffy pelt padded through the forest, flanked by another white cat with a smooth pelt. They arrived at a clearing with one other cat in it. "Hello." The second cat said, dipping her head to the cat in the clearing as she sat down. "We have much to discuss today." The brown cat who was already in the clearing stated.

"Concerning the prophecy, right?" The fluffy-white-pelt cat said.

"Yes. I think Echobreeze already knows about it." The brown cat said.

"She does. Should we stop her from telling them about it?" The white cat with a smooth pelt asked.

"No, Cloudnose. It is time they learned. It will take moons to fully fulfil it." The brown cat said.

"It might be too early. 'Dusk' is enough of a threat yet." The fluffy pelted cat said.

"'Dusk' is definitely enough of a threat." The brown cat said.

"'Dusk' Isn't directly harming the clans." The fluffy-pelted cat argued.

"Yes, but EarthClan has been better off." The smooth white-pelt cat said.

"Definitely. Four medicine cats might be a new record." The brown cat said.

"Yes, it is time they learned. We can't hide their destiny from them any longer." The fluffy pelt cat said.


	2. Chapter 2

DIRECT CONTINUATION OF WHAT HAPPENED AT THE END OF ENDLESS COUGH

"Nothing." Echobreeze said. "No, you meant something. What?" Ivymist asked firmly. "There is a..." Echobreeze hesitated, not sure if she should continue. "Prophecy about me, Treespirit, Endlessheart, Sunpaw, and Blazepaw." She finished. "Okay." Ivymist said as though she didn't care. She walked over to a corner of the den, then turned around. "I know." She added. "Wait... How did you know?" Treespirit asked, wincing as he shifted in his nest.

"I see things, and then the reasoning surfaces in a dream where a cat that died tells me about what I realized. Most of the time I don't notice." Ivymist explained.

"No, Starclan send you dreams." Greenpaw said. The cats flinched as they realized Greenpaw was there.

"Like Twilightstar told me, I don't have to believe you to respect that you believe it." Ivymist said, turning to look at Greenpaw.

"What is the prophecy?" Treespirit asked.

"A breeze will echo off the walls of the stars themselves, bringing on the battle, dusk will be defeated, but the blaze won't be enough. The sun will have light the path, night and tree will follow, the heart will reunite them, but only temporarily, as the threat of breath persists, the breeze will find a way, to block the tunnel that the stars have made, to prevent the end that seems so near, will the breeze find out in time is still a mystery, even to the stars themselves. Dusk will become a threat again, if the breeze doesn't find out, that the heart has been seeing deaths in dreams, the sun will scare away the dusk, but the end of the clans will still come, despite the attempts of the stars themselves. If the sun scares away the dusk, after the breeze finds out, the clans will survive until the end of the stars themselves." Echobreeze recited.

Ivymist started mumbling to herself, then looked up. "That is definitely referring to those cats." She said.

"Couldn't be a bit vaguer, could you?" Treespirit said.

"Oh, I can be vaguer." Ivymist said.

"I'm not crippled!" Endlessheart yelled.

"You are. Four out of the five cats in the prophecy are basically, well, to put it directly, crippled." Ivymist said.

It turned out three of those for cats were in the den. "No we're not!" Echobreeze, Endlessheart, and Treespirit yelled. Ivymist purred. "You are." She said. "Echobreeze, if you took off that device, you wouldn't be able to be a warrior. Treespirit, only one cat has been known to fully recover from a broken leg. Endlessheart, if feverfew and wet moss didn't exist, you would be dead. Treespirit is the only one of you three who has a chance to fully recover. I know how to fully heal a broken leg." Ivymist explained to the listening cats.

A cat appeared at the entrance. In was Morningflight. "Is Treespirit okay?" She asked. "The only injury he seems to have is a broken leg." Ivymist reported.

Morningflight turned to her son. "Does it hurt?" She asked. "Yes. Obviously." Treespirit said. "What happened?" Morningflight seemed to ask the air. "I fell of a rock." Treespirit said. "I meant how did you fall off the rock." Morningflight corrected herself. Treespirit's expression changed. "I don't want to talk about it." He said, then turned to Ivymist. "Though I wouldn't mind talking to Twilightstar about it." Treespirit didn't seem to notice that Morningflight looked hurt. "Okay." Morningflight said as she walked out. Echobreeze could see that she was trying not to look hurt. "How could you be so ignorant, Treespirit?" Echobreeze yelled as she stormed out of the den after Morningflight

Echobreeze found Morningflight under a bush. She sat down in front of the bush, careful not to crack the sticks holding her spine and back legs in position. Morningflight seemed to be staring through Echobreeze.

"You okay?" She asked.

Morningflight shook herself. "Echobreeze." She said, as though addressing her.

"Yes, my name is Echobreeze." Echobreeze said.

"No, I'm not okay." Morningflight said.

"That was mouse-brained of Treespirit." Echobreeze said.

"He didn't know what he was doing." Morningflight said.

"That doesn't give him the right to do it." Echobreeze said.

"He just wasn't ready for me to know yet. He wanted to tell Twilightstar instead. I don't understand why that bothers me so much." Morningflight said.

"The most likely reason it bothers you is probably that Twilightstar isn't related to Treespirit. It would be different if he wanted to tell me or Endlessheart, wouldn't it?" Echobreeze offered.

"I guess it would. It also might be because I want to help him, but he doesn't want it." Morningflight said.

"It could be both reasons. Would it help to think about why he didn't want to talk to you about it?" Echobreeze offered.

"Maybe." Morningflight said, sounding optimistic.

"Treespirit might not want to talk to you about because he doesn't want you to know, or to worry, if it's possible to worry about whatever it is." Echobreeze said.

"Why wouldn't he want me to know? I'm his mom!" Morninglight said.

"He might not be ready for you to know." Echobreeze said lamely.

"He treats Twilightstar like a replacement Treefrost!" Morningflight yelled.

"Is that a bad thing?" Echobreeze asked.

"I don't think so." Morningflight said.

"Twilightstar was his mentor." Echobreeze said.

"I know. Do you really think I would forget that?" Morningflight asked playfully.

"No. I'm just saying it might have something to do with it." Echobreeze explained.

"Twilightstar was your mentor, too." Morningflight said.

"I know." Echobreeze said.

Echobreeze could here the pawsteps of a cat coming towards them. She turned towards the sound and saw Ivymist heading towards them.

Echobreeze turned back to Morningflight. "Twilightstar did always treat Treespirit like a son, though." Morningflight said sadly.

"Because he didn't have the chance to with Ivymist." Echobreeze said.

"He had a chance." Ivymist said. Echobreeze realized she was close enough for them to hear her.

"He missed Brightleaf." Echobreeze said, turning to look at Ivymist as she sat down next to them.

"I hardly knew who Brightleaf was!" Ivymist said.

"He didn't actually do any duties for a moon." Morningflight said.

"Brightleaf was six moons older than him. I always thought that it was strange they liked each other." She added, looking at the ground.

"I knew that Brightleaf was older, but not six moons older! That would be like a just-born kit liking an apprentice." Ivymist said.

"Luckily they only started liking each other during the brief time they were both apprentices." Morningflight said, shifting her front paws as though this conversation were making her uncomfortable.

"Is Treespirit okay?" Morningflight asked turning to look Ivymist.

"He will be." Ivymist said.

"Why is Twilightstar so playful?" Echobreeze blurted out before she could stop herself.

"I don't know." Ivymist said.

"Why are kits playful?" Morninglight asked.

"Because they're young... I guess." Ivymist said.

"Is Twilightstar young?" Ivymist asked.

"Is 27 moons old young?" Morningflight asked.

"Not compared to kits." Echobreeze said.

"Echobreeze, Treespirit wanted to know what you meant by 'How could you be so ignorant?'" Ivymist said.

"I meant what he thinks I meant." Echobreeze said.

"What did you mean?" Ivymist asked.

"What do you think I meant?" Echobreeze shot back, bristling with anger.

"Echobreeze, how could I possibly know what you meant?" Ivymist asked calmly.

Echobreeze stood up, and tried to think of the most offensive thing she could say to Ivymist. "Ask StarClan!" She yelled running off into the woods. How could Ivymist and Treespirit be so ignorant?

"Echobreeze, come back!" Morningflight yelled behind her. "No! Tell Twilightstar I'm leaving EarthClan!" She yelled, continuing to run.


	3. Chapter 3

Treespirit headed to the warriors' den to find Morningflight, because that was where she normally went when she wasn't assigned to a patrol.

Sure enough, Treespirit found Morningflight dozing by the warriors' den. "Morningflight?" Treespirit nudged Morningflight.

"What?" Morningflight asked.

"I'm going to go find Echobreeze." Treespirit said.

"No, you're not. You might not come back!" Morningflight said.

"But then Echobreeze won't." Treespirit said.

"But then both of you would be gone!" Morningflight said.

"Don't you want Echobreeze to come back? I'll be fine, Morningflight." Treespirit said.

"Yes. You're right. You're not a helpless kit anymore." Morningflight said.

"So I can go?" Treespirit asked.

"Sure." Morningflight said.

"I'll be fine." Treespirit said. He licked Morningflight's ear. (comfort)

"Of course you will." Morningflight said.

Treespirit walked to Ivymist's den, anxious to start looking for Echobreeze.

"Ah. What took you so long?" Ivymist asked when he got to the medicine cat den.

"Morningflight." Treespirit said as he ate the herbs that Ivymist had pushed towards him.

"May StarClan light your path, guide your paws, and watch over you." Ivymist said.

"You don-" Treespirit was cut off by Ivymist.

"I know. Will cats stop reminding me I don't believe in StarClan? I know I don't, but they do!" Ivymist yelled, flinging a ball of moss with her paws.

"You could have said it nicely!" Treespirit yelled.

"Go find Echobreeze before I claw your ears!" Ivymist said.

Treespirit ran out of the den. Once he got outside of the camp, he stopped and tasted the air for Echobreeze's scent. He found it, it was headed towards the Great Oak. He ran along it, stopping every few minutes to make sure he still had her scent.

Around when it was actually sun-high, Treespirit was hungry. He scented a mouse, then he saw it, scuttling among the leaves. He dropped into a hunter's crouch, then padded forwards, careful not to disturb his target.

Once he was in pouncing range, he pounced on to the mouse, and swiftly broke the mouse's neck, then settled under a fern to eat his catch.

Licking his lips, he got up and got back on the trail of Echobreeze's scent.

He could tell when he had left clan territory. He noticed that Echobreeze's scent was headed towards where Morningflight had told him and his littermates was the direction to the lake clans. Why would she want to go there? Treespirit asked himself.

He ran along her scent, trying to catch up to her. He saw evidence of hunting every once in awhile, and, passing it off as Echobreeze, continued to follow her scent trail.

Eventually Treespirit got tired, and settled under a thorn bush, figuring no enemy would want to disturb him there. Sleep didn't come as easily as Treespirit had thought, because he was worried about Echobreeze. Starclan, let her be okay. He begged.

Several days had passed, and Treespirit still hadn't found Echobreeze. Her scent trail got stronger at some places, but then quickly went back to where it was before.

The scent trail that Treespirit was following got stronger around sun-high that day. Thinking he might be closer to Echobreeze, he ran along the trail, the scent getting stronger all the time.

The ground cut off to reveal a small gorge. Treespirit saw Echobreeze sitting, looking at the water. he could see a small den carved out of a bush next to the cliff on the opposite side of the water, and it had a nest in it. That must be where Echobreeze stopped. Treespirit though.

He waited a little bit, watching Echobreeze swirl her paw around in the water. Eventually Treespirit leaped down. Echobreeze looked up.

"What are you doing here, Treespirit! This is my territory! Get out!" Echobreeze yelled, bristling with anger.

"I just came to bring you back to EarthClan." Treespirit said.

"EarthClan isn't my home any more. I'll never go back." She growled.

"Morningflight wants you to come back." Treespirit said.

"Who cares about Morningflight? Clearly you don't" She yelled. Echobreeze's words hurt Treespirit, but he tried not to show it.

"I do care about Morningflight. She didn't seem too bothered by what I said." Treespirit said.

"Yeah, because I talked to her! You did what? Sit like a lump!" Echobreeze yelled.

"Both Endlessheart and I want you to come back." Treespirit said, trying to talk some sense into Echobreeze.

"I don't care about you! Drown in the river, for all I care! I have no family. EarthClan isn't my home!" Echobreeze said.

Then I'll drown in the river, as that seems to be what you want. Treespirit thought as he lept into the river, letting the river hold him down. He heard a splash next to him. He didn't care. He was going to die, he thought, as water clouded his senses. He felt a sharp tug at his scruff. Probably just a stick. Treespirit thought as he let himself drift out of consciousness.

**Dramatic cliffy, dun, Dun, DUN!**


	4. Chapter 4

Echobreeze strained under the weight of Treespirit. Echobreeze pulled Treespirit onto the bank. "Be alive!" She yelled as she turned him sideways so she could push the water out of his chest. Once she had done that, she dragged him to the den she had made. Once she had settled him in a nest, she noticed that the cobwebs on his leg weren't there anymore. When he wakes up, I'll go get more. She thought as she started licking at his pelt to warm him up. "You'll be okay, Treespirit. I won't let you die." She murmured to Treespirit.

After awhile of licking Treespirit, he started to move. Echobreeze sat back and let him wake up. "What?" He asked, looking around the den.

"What do you think?" Echobreeze asked, careful to keep only a certain amount of different feelings in her voice: Playfulness, care, and a tiny bit of irritation.

"I jumped in the river." Treespirit said.

"Mouse-brain. You almost got yourself killed." Echobreeze said.

"Why did you save me? I thought you wanted me to die!" Treespirit said.

"Oh, what was it Twilightstar said about me at my warrior ceremony? That I was a cruel, fox-hearted excuse for a cat that would love to see her littermates dead?" Echobreeze asked sarcastically.

"No, he said that you cared about other cats." Treespirit said.

"Exactly. Now, who exactly helped you become an apprentice?" Echobreeze asked.

"You. I still don't understand why we weren't apprentices at the same time." Treespirit said.

"Well, there you go. I would go on, but you seem to have gotten the point." Echobreeze said, then a strange thought struck her.

"Should I become a medicine cat?" She asked suddenly.

"No! There are already four medicine cats!" Treespirit said.

"But Twilightstar said that I cared about cats!" Echobreeze yelled suddenly.

"Echobreeze, you're a good warrior." Treespirit said.

"I know, but I'd also be a good medicine cat." Echobreeze said.

"Why don't we rename you Briarheart." Treespirit said sarcastically.

"Because that sounds mouse-brained." Echobreeze said.

"I don't think it sounds that bad." Treespirit said.

"I need to get some more cobwebs." Echobreeze said, standing up. She walked out of the den and found some cobwebs almost immediately in a crack in the wall of the gorge. She grabbed it, then walked back into the den.

"Give me your leg, or you can limp all the way back to the clans. Makes no difference to me." Echobreeze said. Treespirit obeyed.

"Why did you come here?" Treespirit asked when she was done wrapping his broken leg in cobwebs.

"I was going to try to join their clans, but now I'm wondering if any of them would want to come with us." Echoreeze said.

"If they wanted to, they would have when some cats journeyed to the mountains." Treespirit said.

"There are new cats. We could ask ThunderClan." Echobreeze said.

"We don't exactly look threatening, so I guess we can." Treespirit said, standing up.

The two cats walked to ThunderClan, finding their camp very easily. They walked up to the cat who was guarding the camp.

"What are you doing here?" The cat snarled.

"We want to speak to your leader. We're from the Mountain Clans." Echobreeze said. Echobreeze noticed that Treespirit looked intimidated.

"Cloudstar is on a patrol." The cat said dryly.

"Then we can speak to him when he gets back." Echobreeze said.

"Stand behind that thorn bush. When he gets back, I will see if he has time. You guys look like a bunch of mouse-brains." The cat said, pointing towards a thorn bush with his tail. The two cats obediently padded to behind the thorn bush.

They were only there a few minutes before they heard the pawsteps of cats.

The cat at the front of the patrol stopped by the cat guarding the camp. "Silenttalon, I smell cats. Where are they?" The cat asked... Silenttalon?

"Behind the thorn bush. They wish to speak with you." Silenttalon said.

"Come out then, you cats." Cloudstar said.

Echobreeze and Treespirit cautiously padded out from behind the bush. "Where are you from?" Cloudstar asked.

"The Mountain Clans." Echobreeze said firmly.

"Really? What are your names?" Cloudstar asked.

"I'm Echobreeze and he's Treespirit." Echobreeze said.

"You look weird." Cloudstar commented, looking at Echobreeze.

Cloudstar motioned for them to follow, then led them into the camp.

"Why are you talking for me?" Treespirit breathed into her ear.

"Because you would probably embarrass both of us." Echobreeze breathed back.

Cloudstar stopped walking behind a bush in the camp.

"Why have you come to our camp?" He asked. Echobreeze was surprised to find no anger in his mew.

"We wanted to ask if any of your cats wanted to come back with us." Echobreeze said.

"I will ask in a meeting. Stay here." Cloudstar said, padding out from behind the bush.

"Will all cats gather here for a clan meeting!" Echobreeze heard Cloudstar yowl.

"Some cats have come from the Mountain Clans to ask if anybody wanted to leave with them." Cloudstar mewed.

"Did they say why?" A cat yowled.

"No, Blacktail, they didn't." Cloudstar replied.

"I'll go." A cat said suddenly.

"I guess..." A cat said. Echobreeze could hear the cat padding to the other cat.

"Anybody else?" Cloudstar asked.

After a few moments of silence, Cloudstar started to talk again. "Okay then. Mistyface and Thunderbranch, ThunderClan wishes you luck. Remember, the Warrior Code is slightly modified there, and more loosely obeyed." Cloudstar told the cats.

Echobreeze and Treespirit were almost back to the camp.

"Why do you live on a mountain?" Thunderbranch asked for the 3rd time that day.

"We already told you." Treespirit meowed angrily.

"What prey do you eat?" Mistyface asked.

"We told you that, too. Sand lizards, and basically everything you eat." Echobreeze said.

"Why is the Warrior Code different?" Thunderbranch asked.

"The leader thought that we should change it. I personally think it's better. One of my favorite parts is we have no elders." Treespirit said.

"Does that mean cats die younger?" Mistyface asked.

"No. The Leader Code, a new part of the code, says that all cats must have a purpose in the clan." Echobreeze said.

"But elders have a purpose!" Mistyface said.

"Echobreeze has a point, Mistyface. This means all cats are respected by the clan. Not that elders aren't, but it makes more sense." Thunderbranch said.

"Also, we've told you all of this." Echobreeze said.

"Shush. We're almost there." Treespirit said.

Twilightstar was under the Moonlit-Stone. Echobreeze ran ahead of them.

"Twilightstar!" Echobreeze happily said when she got to Twilightstar.

"You're back!" Twilightstar said, standing up.

"Some cats from ThunderClan came with us. Can they stay in the clan?" Echobreeze asked hopefully.

"I have no problem with it. I can make an announcement right now, if you like, or you could introduce me to them first." Twilightstar said.

"They're just over there. I'll got get them." Echobreeze said, running over to where Treespirit was standing with Thunderbranch and Mistyface.

"Twilightstar wants to meet you." Echobreeze said.

"Okay. Follow Echobreeze." Treespirit said.

Echobreeze ran back across the clearing to Twilightstar.

"This is Thunderbranch and Mistyface." Echobreeze told Twilightstar once they were close enough.

"Hello, Thunderbranch and Mistyface. I am Twilightstar." Twilightstar said.

"Hi." Both Thunderbranch and Mistyface said.

"I will announce your arrival, then." Twilightstar said.

"Not yet." Echobreeze said, wanting to ask Morningflight something first.

"I'll do it when you're ready." Twilightstar said.

Echobreeze scanned the clearing for Morningflight. She spotted Morningflight next to a bush. She ran over to her.

"Morningflight?" Echobreeze said.

"Echobreeze! You're okay!" Morningflight said.

"Um, there is something I wanted to ask you." Echobreeze said.

"Okay." Morningflight said simply.

Echobreeze hesitated. Should I ask her? Echobreeze asked herself. "Should I become a medicine cat?" she asked.

Morningflight looked taken aback by the question. "Do you want to?" Morningflight asked.

"No.. er.. yes... I'm confused." Echobreeze wailed.

"You would be a good medicine cat and warrior, Echobreeze. You should decide this for yourself." Morningflight said.

"But I don't know which one I would rather be." Echobreeze said.

"Follow your heart." Morningflight said.

"Thanks." Echobreeze said.

Echobreeze ran over to Twilightstar. "I'm ready." She said. Twilightstar didn't respond, just leaped onto the Moonlit-Stone.

"Will all cats above the age of 3 moons gather beneath the Moonlit-Stone for a clan meeting!" Twilightstar yowled across the clearing.

Once all the cats were gathered, Twilightstar began.

"Echobreeze and Treespirit have returned to EarthClan. They brought two warriors from the lake clan ThunderClan. Thunderleap and Mistyface have agreed to become part of our clan. Treespirit will be resuming his duties as deputy." Twilightstar said.

He leaped down from the Moonlit-Stone. Echobreeze was still confused from her talk with Morningflight. Can I even become a medicine cat? Echobreeze thought. She decided to go ask Ivymist.

Once Echobreeze got to Ivymist, she knew exactly what she was going to ask.

"Ivymist? Can I ask you a question?" She asked.

"You just asked two, but yes, you can ask another." Ivymist said.

"If I wanted to, could I become a medicine cat?" Echobreeze asked.

Like Morningflight, Ivymist looked taken aback by the question. "You would have to promise to treat your kits no different than any other cat in the clan." Ivymist said.

"Okay." Echobreeze said, then left the den. She walked out of the camp. She decided to got to her ledge so she could think. She was very confused, and she needed the wind from the ledge.

By the time Echobreeze got to the ledge, she was even more confused. If she became a medicine cat, she would basically have to stop loving her kits. She would also know how to heal all of the cats. If she stayed a warrior, she could love her kits, but she wouldn't be able to care about all cats, and use what Twilightstar had said to her during her warrior ceremony. Either way, she knew that Twilightstar, Morningflight, and her littermates would respect her decision. She also knew that her kits would respect her decision, too. Medicine cats couldn't fight in battles.

Echobreeze could hear pawsteps, but she tried to ignore them. Cats were always disturbing her thinking place.

"Echobreeze?" Echobreeze realized that Ivymist was there.

"What?" She asked.

"Is there a reason you asked me that?" Ivymist asked.

"Yes. When Treespirit found me, I yelled at him. Then he jumped into the river. It reminded me of what Twilightstar said about me at my warrior ceremony. I jumped in and got him out of the river. Now I'm confused on whether I should stay a warrior or become a medicine cat. Morningflight told me to follow my heart, but I'm not sure how I'm supposed to do that." Echobreeze said.

"I can't give you any better advice. She's right: You should make this decision for yourself." Ivymist said. "You'd be great at either."

"I would?" Echobreeze asked.

"Yes. Remember that if you do become a medicine cat you will have to give up caring for Cloudpaw, Sunpaw, and Nightpaw." Ivymist said.

"I knew what to do with Treespirit, and I know what to do when I battle. I just wish I knew what I wanted to do more." Echobreeze said.

"There will come a time when you will know what matters most to you. Something will happen, or you will realize something, that will help you make your decision." Ivymist said.

"Okay." Echobreeze said.

"I'm going to go back to camp now." Ivymist said.

"Okay." Echobreeze said.

A few moments after Ivymist left, Echobreeze decided to go back with her.

It was the next morning, and Echobreeze hadn't been assigned to any patrol, and she was bored. She sat down by a bush with a fat sand lizard.

After a while of sitting there, Echobreeze heard a scream. "Dawnsight is kitting!" She heard a cat yowl.

"Where are the medicine cats?" Echobreeze asked.

"Gone looking for herbs!" The cat called back. It was Twilightstar.

I'll do it, than. "Somebody go find them!" She yelled. standing up to go to the medicine cat den to get herbs. I hope I can do this right. Echobreeze thought as she started looking through the herbs. She recognized raspberry leaves, she had eaten those while she was kitting.

She started walking to the nursery, herbs in her mouth. She set them down long enough to yowl, "Somebody go get wet moss!", then picked them up again and walked into the nursery.

"Where.. is... Ivymist?" Dawnsight asked when Echobreeze came in. "Gathering herbs." She said after she set down her herbs.

"Remember to breathe." She said, trying to comfort Dawnsight.

She gave the leaves to Dawnsight. "Eat these." She said. Dawnsight ate them.

Echobreeze tried to remember when she was kitting. I was so young! She thought.

She started feeling Dawnsight's stomach. "You're okay." She said, not sure if she was. "I hope." She added quieter.

Suddenly, Dawnsight's eyes got big, and the whites around them were showing. A small wet bundle slipped out. Echobreeze started licking it, then nudged it to Dawnsight's belly.

Spasms were still coursing through Dawnsight. Echobreeze felt that there was still one more kit. "Keep going." She encouraged Dawnsight.

The second kit came out much easier, because it looked like Dawnsight was in less pain. When it slipped out, Echobreeze started licking it, then nudged it to Dawnsight's belly.

They were both toms. "They're both toms." Dawnsight said, curling herself around them. Echobreeze noticed that the second kit looked like she did. "That one is Echokit, because it looks like you, and for you." Dawnsight said, using her tail to point to the kit that looked like Echobreeze. "...And that kit is Earthkit, because of EarthClan." Dawnsight finished.

Echobreeze just wanted to sit down. Ivymist walked into the den. "Sorry I was gathering herbs. Are you okay?" Ivymist asked Dawnsight. "Yes. Echobreeze helped." Dawnsight said.

"You did?" Ivymist said, turning to Echobreeze.

"Yes." Echobreeze said.

"You did a good job." Ivymist said.

"I did?" Echobreeze asked.

"Yes. Anyway, did you name them yet?" Ivymist asked, turning back to Dawnsight.

"Yes. That one is Echokit and that one is Earthkit." Dawnsight said.

"Those are good names. Echokit and Earthkit, welcome to EarthClan." Ivymist said.

"Echobreeze, can you come to my den with me?" Ivymist asked Echobreeze.

"Sure." Echobreeze answered.

"Did you decide yet?" Ivymist asked when they got to the den.

"Yes." Echobreeze knew what she wanted to do. She had liked feeling like she could do something to help Dawnsight, and wanted to be able to do it to other cats.

"What is your decision?" Ivymist asked.

Echobreeze hesitated. "I want to become a medicine cat." She said.

**Am I getting better at cliffies? Also, if you're confused by all this code-messed-up-ness, read the fanfic i wrote with the new code in it.**


	5. Chapter 5

"Are you sure?" Ivymist asked. "You know what you are giving up."

"Yes." Echobreeze said. Ivymist could tell she was certain.

"Then tell Twilightstar that it is time we had a meeting for the medicine cats to be recognized. We haven't had one since Greenpaw." Ivymist said.

"Will all cats above the age of 3 moons gather beneath the Moonlit-Stone for a clan meeting!" Ivymist walked out of her den and to where Echobreeze and her littermates were sitting.

"It is time that we mentioned our medicine cats. Ivymist has five apprentices now. They are Endlessheart, Greenpaw, Cloudpaw, Blazepaw, and Echobreeze has chosen to become a medicine cat." Twilightstar announced.

Twilightstar leaped off of the Moonlit-Stone, then padded over to Ivymist. "You are taking Cloudpaw, Blazepaw, and Echobreeze to the Moon-Pond, right?" Twilightstar asked.

"Yes, Twilightstar." Ivymist said. "It's also Half-Moon, so all the medicine cats have to come." She added.

Ivymist waited while her five apprentices gathered by her. "Let's go." Ivymist said, starting to walk to the entrance of the camp.

When they got to the Big Oak, they waited for the other medicine cats. Treeheart, the RainClan medicine cat, was the first to arrive with his apprentices, Brightpaw and Lizardpaw.

"Five now?" Treeheart asked.

"Yes." Ivymist said.

"I wish that many cats were interested in being a medicine cat in my clan." Treeheart sighed, "But don't you get overwhelmed by that many apprentices?"

"No, not really." Ivymist said.

"How do you train Blazepaw? He's unresponsive as a rock!" Lizardpaw complained.

"That's because he's blind and death." Ivymist explained to the energetic apprentice. "And I don't train him. Echobreeze does, in StarClan." She tried not to show that the word 'StarClan' meant nothing to her.

"Ah, here come Willowtear and Snowbush." Treeheart said.

"Let's go, then." Ivymist said, leading the cats down to the Moon-Pond. She just wanted to get it over with.

Once they got to the Moon-Pond, Ivymist had gotten used to pretending she believed in StarClan.

"Which one of you is going first?" Snowbush asked.

"I will." Treeheart said.

"Lizardpaw, is it you're wish to enter the mysteries of StarClan as a medicine cat?" Treeheart asked.

"It is."

"Then come forward. Warriors of StarClan, I present you with this apprentice. He has chosen the path of a medicine cat. Grant him you're wisdom and insight so he may understand you're ways a heal is clan in accordance with your will." Treeheart finished.

"You guys know Endlessheart, Blazepaw, and Greenpaw. Cloudpaw has chosen to become a medicine cat, along with Echobreeze, who has decided to become a medicine cat. Cloudpaw and Echobreeze, is it you're wish to enter the mysteries of StarClan as a medicine cat?" Ivymist asked.

"It is." They both answered.

"Then come forward. Warriors of Starclan, I present you with these apprentices. They have chosen, or in Echobreeze's case, decided to become a medicine cat instead of a warrior. Past experience as a warrior will help Echobreeze heal her clan. Grant them your wisdom and insight so they may understand your ways and heal their clan in accordance with your will." Ivymist finished.

The medicine cats touched their noses to the Moon-Pond. Ivymist just closed her eyes, knowing that she wasn't going to sleep. She was thinking about Echokit and Earthkit. She knew that "Echo" Wasn't a very common part of somebody's name. Echobreeze must have had something to do with it. She thought. Earthkit probably had something to do with EarthClan.

Ivymist heard the cats starting to stir. She had had a dream about catching a butterfly.

"Let's go." She told her five apprentices as they walked back to the EarthClan camp.

When they got back to camp, Ivymist walked into the medicine cat den. "I need to go check in on Dawnsight." She said.

"Okay." Echobreeze said.

Ivymist padded out of the den to the nursery. She could hear the kits, which meant that they were fine.

"Hello." She said when she walked into the den.

"Hi. These two are much more energetic then my other kits." Dawnsight said.

"You had other kits?" Ivymist asked.

"You didn't know that? The entire reason I came here to take of Blazepaw was because my kits died, but they still would have been eating milk, like Blazepaw was at the time." Dawnsight explained.

"I guess I missed that detail." Ivymist said.

"So why'd you come here?" Dawnsight asked.

"I don't remember. Anyway, you all look fine." Ivymist said.

Just then, one of the kits wailed. "Are we?" Dawnsight asked.

"Yes." Ivymist said. The kit wailed again, wriggling.

"Really?" Dawnsight asked again.

"Yes." Ivymist would never say it to another cat, but she really didn't like taking care of queens. It made her squeamish.

The kit wailed again, pawing at the other one.

"Ivymist, really. Is Echokit fine, or not?" Dawnsight asked.

"I think that Echokit is fine." Ivymist said.

"Then why does she keep wailing?" Dawnsight asked.

"I'll check both of them." Ivymist said, grabbing the kits and moving them to one of the empty nests.

"Echokit is fine, it's Earthkit that I'm worried about. He's small, and doesn't react much when I do stuff." Ivymist said.

"There's nothing wrong with being small!" Dawnsight said defensively.

"Nothing by itself, but along with the fact that he doesn't react much is bad. Kits should react." Ivymist said. She was gently feeling Earthkit's chest.

"Is Earthkit okay?" Dawnsight asked.

"No." Ivymist said. There was no point in being indirect.

"What's wrong with Earthkit?" Dawnsight asked. Her voice was caked with sadness.

"I don't know, but something isn't right." Ivymist said.

"Please let Earthkit be okay." Ivymist heard Dawnsight breathe.

"I need to take Earthkit to my den." Ivymist said.

"Okay." Dawnsight said. Ivymist picked up Echokit and gave it to Dawnsight, who curled around her kit. She then picked up Earthkit and left the den.

When she got to the den, Echobreeze was still awake.

"Why are you still awake?" Ivymist asked as she set down Earthkit.

"I couldn't sleep. Why did you bring Earthkit here?" Echobreeze asked.

"Because something is wrong with him." Ivymist said.

"What?" Echobreeze asked

"I don't know. He's breathing, which is all I care about right now." Ivymist said.

"What are you going to do?" Echobreeze asked.

"Stay awake with him." Ivymist said.

"Won't you get tired?" Echobreeze asked.

"No." Ivymist answered.

Echobreeze fell asleep quickly. Earthkit continued to breathe, and Ivymist curled herself around him. She was not going to let this kit die.

**dun, Dun, DUN! Also, the next chapter is the "New Echokit"'s perspective.**


	6. Chapter 6

Where's Earthkit? Echokit thought as he pawed at his mom for more milk. "You've had enough." Dawnsight said.

Echokit decided to open his eyes. When he opened them, the nursery suddenly seemed much bigger.

"Where's Earthkit?" Echokit asked.

"With Ivymist." Dawnsight said. She licked Echokit's face, pleased that he had opened his eyes.

"Who's Ivymist?" Echokit asked.

"The medicine cat." Dawnsight answered.

"Is Earthkit okay?" Echokit asked.

"No." Dawnsight said.

"I want to go to Earthkit!" Echokit wailed.

"He's too... sick." Dawnsight said.

"But I could make him better!" Echokit said.

"If only you could." Dawnsight said.

"But I can!" Echokit said.

"Echokit, no matter how much you want it, just going to see Earthkit won't make him better." Dawnsight said.

"Yes it will!" Echokit yelled. He didn't understand why Dawnsight was being so unreasonable.

Echokit saw a cat walk in. He turned to see who it was, forgetting his argument.

"Hello, Ivymist." Dawnsight said to the cat.

"Is Echokit okay?" Ivymist asked.

"Dawnsight won't let me go see Earthkit!" Echokit complained to the medicine cat. Ivymist walked out of the den, and came back a few minutes later with a green thing in her jaws. She set it down in front of Echokit.

"Eat these." Ivymist instructed Echokit. Echokit ate the green thing.

"Echokit, Earthkit is very, very sick. I don't want you to get sick if you can catch it." Ivymist said.

"But I won't get sick!" Echokit wailed. Why weren't these cats letting him go see Earthkit?

"You might not get sick. But I don't want to take the risk." Ivymist said.

"I want to see Earthkit!" Echokit wailed again.

"Dawnsight, you should take him out for a walk." Ivymist said.

"I don't need a walk! I need to see Earthkit!" Echokit wailed.

"You can't see Earthkit." Dawnsight said.

"No. I'm not going to protect him any more. He can see Earthkit." Ivymist said.

"But he's a kit!" Dawnsight complained, curling herself around Echokit. Echokit struggled to get out of her grasp. "I won't let him see Earthkit!"

"Dawnsight, you're being unreasonable. Earthkit is his brother. He has a right to go see him." Ivymist said.

"I'm not being unreasonable!" Dawnsight yelled.

"Yes you are." Ivymist said.

"Fine." Dawnsight said, then picked up Echokit by the scruff.

The camp was huge. Echokit struggled to get a look at everything before they got to the medicine cat den.

When they got to the medicine cat den, Dawnsight set Echokit down.

"This is Earthkit." Ivymist said as she walked over to a nest. Echokit scurried after Ivymist. He crawled onto the edge of the net with a boost from Dawnsight.

Earthkit was really thin and small.

"Why is he so small?" Echokit asked. He slipped into the nest.

"I don't know." Ivymist said.

Echokit nudged Earthkit. He didn't move, not an inch. Echokit observed that he was breathing in long breaths that barely did anything to his chest.

"Why does he breathe weird?" Echokit asked.

"Because he's weak." Ivymist answered.

"Is he hungry?" Echokit asked.

"I don't know." Ivymist answered.

"He should eat." Echokit said.

"He's too weak." Ivymist said.

"He'll only get weaker if he doesn't eat." Echokit said.

"You're right." Ivymist sighed. "Dawnsight?"

Dawnsight grabbed the crippled kit in her jaws and curled around the kit. Earthkit just laid there. Something about that made Echokit sad. He crawled out of the nest. When he got out of the nest, he walked over to where Dawnsight and Earthkit were laying. He nudged Earthkit's head to Dawnsight's belly. The kit just laid there. Echokit realized that he was too weak to get the milk out himself. Echokit started pawing at Dawnsight's belly for him. The kit wriggled closer to Dawnsight.

After a little bit of time, Echokit stopped helping Earthkit eat. Dawnsight picked up Earthkit and put him back into the nest.

"We should go back to the nursery now." Dawnsight said.

"No! I want to stay with Earthkit!" Echokit said.

"You need to nap." Dawnsight said.

"But I'm not tired!" Echokit said over a yawn.

"Really?" Dawnsight asked, picking him up and walking to the nursery. Echokit fell asleep before they got there.

Echokit woke up to a shaft of light shining on his face He was hungry, so he pawed at Dawnsight's belly. When he was full, he pawed at Dawnsight's face, claws sheathed.

"Ouch!" She yelled.

"I want to go to Earthkit." Echokit said.

"Okay." Dawnsight said, picking up her kit and carrying him to the den.

When he got there, he ran to Earthkit's nest. He jumped in, eager to see his brother. He was happy to see that his brother was there.

"Hi, Earthkit." He said. He sat down on the opposite side of the den that Earthkit was on. Earthkit's ears twitched.

"Look, Dawnsight! He moved his ears!" Echokit cheered, pleased with the improvement.

"I'm watching, don't worry." Dawnsight said.

Earthkit shifted in the nest.

A cat walked into the den. "Hello, Dawnsight and Echokit." It was a cat that Echokit didn't recognize.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Echobreeze." The cat said.

"You have the same name as me!" Echokit said happily.

"Almost." Echobreeze said.

Five other cats walked into the den.

"That's Blazepaw, Cloudpaw, Greenpaw, and Endlessheart." Dawnsight said, pointing to each of the new cats with her tail. "You've already met Ivymist."

"Are they all medicine cats?" Echokit asked.

"Yes." Dawnsight said.

"I need to check on Earthkit." Ivymist said.

"He moved his ears! And moved in the nest!" Echokit shouted happily.

"Good." Ivymist said, setting a herb in front of Earthkit. "What is that?" Echokit asked. "Coltsfoot. It helps with his breathing." Ivymist said. "Cool." Echokit decided that he wanted to know what all of the herbs were and how to use them.

**Should he become a medicine cat? And, since both of their mates are dead, should Morningflight and Twilightstar become mates?**


	7. Chapter 7

Two days had passed since Earthkit had gone back to the nursery. Endlessheart was relaxing in front of the medicine cat den, thinking about how everything was very chaotic in the medicine cat den. Endlessheart had been told several times by Cloudpaw to go get herbs. Endlessheart was beginning to wonder where the authority in the medicine cat den had gone. Suddenly, he got an idea.

He walked over to where Ivymist was sitting by a rock. "Ivymist?" Endlessheart asked his mentor.

"Yes, Endlessheart?" Ivymist responded.

"I was thinking about order. With medicine cats being unlimited, it is very difficult to tell who you take orders from. I came up with an idea to fix this." Endlessheart said.

"What is it?" Ivymist asked.

"Different cats would have different duties. Different cats would also have different amounts of authority. It would be like having a clan of medicine cats." Endlessheart answered.

"So one cat would gather herbs, one would heal injuries? I don't know if I get it." Ivymist said.

"Sort of. There would also be a cat who could tell everybody what to do, sort of like a leader in a clan." Endlessheart said.

"What would some of the cats be?" Ivymist asked.

"I already told you one. There would also be a cat who gathered herbs, or maybe a few cats. It seems unfair to me to limit what kind of stuff a cat can do, though." Endlessheart said.

"So far you've told me about a leader-like cat and a cat that possibly would gather herbs. If this works, Endlessheart, you will become a full medicine cat." Ivymist said. Endlessheart was almost jumping out of his fur. Figuratively, of course.

"Okay, Ivymist." Endlessheart said. He walked back to where he was sitting before to think about what he had told Ivymist.

There would need to be a leader cat. That would be Ivymist. There would also be a division between full medicine cat and apprentice. The full medicine cats could take an apprentice. There would need to be a way to decide who would become medicine cat after the current one, like a deputy. Medicine cat apprentices would gather herbs, like an apprentice cleans bedding. Like in a clan, if there were no apprentices, the full medicine cats would gather herbs. Medicine cat apprentices would only do minor things, unless there wasn't a full medicine cat present or there wasn't enough time to go get a full medicine cat, or there, Endlessheart realized with a shudder, were too many major things for the full medicine cats.

Endlessheart decided to go tell Ivymist what he had come up with. He ran over to Ivymist eagerly. "I figured out more about it." He said when he was close enough.

"You did? Cool." Ivymist said.

"Should I tell you about it?" Endlessheart asked.

"Sure." Ivymist said.

"You're going to have to be a little more enthusiastic than sure." Endlessheart said.

"Okay." Ivymist said.

Endlessheart sighed. "Like I said before, there would be a cat that was like a leader. There would also need to be a way to decide who would be the next one, to prevent confusion." Endlessheart paused, in case Ivymist had any questions.

"Like a deputy and a leader." Ivymist said.

"Yes. There would also be a clearer difference between apprentices and full medicine cats. Apprentices would gather herbs and only do minor things. If there were no apprentices, then the full medicine cats would gather herbs, like if there are no apprentices. Apprentices would do major things if there aren't any full medicine cats to do them." Endlessheart finished. He didn't realize that that whole time Twilightstar had been sitting within earshot.

Twilightstar padded over to them. "That's a good idea." Twilightstar said when he was close enough.

"I also forgot a detail. Full medicine cats could have apprentices." Endlessheart said.

"Like a clan within a clan." Ivymist said.

"Sort of." Endlessheart answered.

"It's a really good idea." Twilightstar said, more to Ivymist than to Endlessheart.

"I know. We'll try it in our clan. If it works for us, at the next gathering we'll tell the other clans about it." Ivymist said.

"Will you start trying it right now?" Twilightstar asked.

"There is one problem with that plan. We are the only clan with enough medicine cats to do it. We could tell the other medicine cats about it at the next half-moon." Endlessheart said.

"You have a point." Twilightstar said.

"Endlessheart, go get the other medicine cats. In our clan, I mean." Ivymist said.

Endlessheart ran to the medicine cat training clearing.

"Ivymist wanted me to come get you." Ivymist told the cats.

They were back to camp in a few moments.

"Endlessheart came up with an idea. He is going to tell you about it." Ivymist said once all the cats were all sitting down.

"I've noticed that there is a lack of authority between us. I came up with an idea that is sort of like a clan within a clan. There would be two cats who are like the leader and deputy of a clan. Full medicine cats could be mentor to apprentice medicine cats. Some of the duties that apprentices perform would be collecting herbs and doing minor stuff. If there are no full medicine cats, the apprentices will do the major stuff. Like in a normal clan, if there are no apprentices, the full medicine cats will do that stuff." Endlessheart told the cats.

"Who will be those two cats?" Cloudpaw asked.

"I will be the leader thingy, and Endlessheart will be the deputy thingy." Ivymist said. "...And Endlessheart, Greenpaw, and Blazepaw will become full medicine cats."

"It's time Whitepaw became a warrior." Twilightstar said, leaping onto the Moonlit-Stone. "Will all cats above the age of 3 moons gather beneath the Moonlit-Stone for a clan meeting!" Twilightstar yowled.

"It is time Whitepaw became a warrior. I, Twilightstar, leader of EarthClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. Whitepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and defend and protect this clan, even at the cost of your life?" Twilightstar began.

"I do." Whitepaw said.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Whitepaw, from this day forward you will be known as Whitecloud. StarClan honors your loyalty and courage, and we welcome you as a full warrior of EarthClan." Twilightstar finished.

"Whitecloud! Whitecloud!" EarthClan cheered.

Endlessheart didn't feel like cheering. He just realized that he didn't feel very good.

"Ivymist?" Endlessheart asked.

"What?"

"I think I'm going to vomit." Endlessheart said.

"Then get a leaf."

Endlessheart ran to get a leaf. He found one outside the rock between the medicine cat den and the nursery. He stood there, and vomited in a couple moments of standing there.

Ivymist walked over. "Sorry I ignored you. Are you okay?" Ivymist asked. He shook his head. Morningflight walked over.

"Endlessheart." She said, rubbing her tail on his back. When he was done vomiting, he sat down. "Do you think you can go to the den?" Ivymist asked. Endlessheart nodded. "I want to get a drink from the stream first, though." He said. He stood up.

"I'll go with him." Ivymist said.

"Okay." Morningflight said.

They had to walk passed Echokit and Earthkit playing with a mossball. Endlessheart would have told them not to play so close to the edge of the camp, but he didn't feel like it.

They made it to the stream it what felt like days to Endlessheart. He vomited again. "You are sick, aren't you?" Ivymist asked. He nodded as he took a drink of the cold water in the stream. He gagged on the water.

"Ow." He said. "I can carry you back to camp. You did enough walking getting this far." Ivymist offered. Endlessheart had another one of his coughing spasms. "Okay." He rasped. Ivymist bent down, and he crawled onto her.

When they got back to camp, Endlessheart could tell that Ivymist was tired. "I can get off now." He rasped. Even though he had just gotten a drink, his throat was dry. Ivymist bent down, and he crawled off. "Morningflight is going to have more kits soon." Ivymist said. "But isn't she a bit old?" Endlessheart asked. "Yes. That's what I'm worried about." Ivymist said as she walked into the den. Endlessheart followed her, and went into his den.

"Did you eat anything strange?" Ivymist asked as she gave him some watermint and feverfew. He ate the herbs. "No." He was still rasping.

"Should I get you some coltsfoot?" Ivymist asked. "Sure." He rasped. Ivymist went into the herb stored and came back with coltsfoot. "I'm going to get you some wet moss." Ivymist said as she walked out of the den.

Ivymist came back in moments with the wet moss, which Endlessheart started lapping at. Like with the stream, he gagged on that, too. "You should rest, Endlessheart." Ivymist said. Endlessheart curled up and fell asleep quickly.

**What do you think of the Medicine Cat System?**


	8. Chapter 8

Echobreeze walked out to the morning meeting for the fifth day since Endlessheart had gotten sick. He had been sleeping, or too sick to do much more than eat herbs and weakly lap at moss. Treespirit sat next to Echobreeze.

When the meeting was over, the medicine cats padded to the medicine cat training clearing. Echobreeze couldn't help but think about Endlessheart. She must have been walking like she was thinking about him, because Ivymist walked up to her. "It's Endlessheart, isn't it?" Ivymist asked. Echobreeze nodded. "Endlessheart is fine, Echobreeze." Ivymist said. "He's my brother!" Echobreeze said. "I know. You were right, Echobreeze. You should be a medicine cat." Ivymist said.

They arrived at the medicine cat training clearing, which was really a small triangle with three trees in the corners, and three bushes in between the two sides, but the side with the entrance only had two bushes. When they got there, the cats lined themselves up by the edges.

"We are going to review what we talked about yesterday. Who would like to tell us what we did yesterday?" Ivymist asked.

"I do." Greenpaw said. "We learned how to heal a broken leg. You rap cobwebs around the leg. You have to be careful to wrap it tight enough that it will stay, but not too tight. You also want to make sure that the cat exercises the leg by having them swim in a lake or river." Greenpaw said.

"What if the leg hurts, as it is bound to?" Ivymist asked.

"You give them some poppy seed." Greenpaw said.

"Correct. Today we are going to learn about what to do if a cat brakes their back, like Echobreeze did. Echobreeze broke it by having two cats launch themselves at her, and they pushed her back too far it two different directions, and it broke. Can anybody think of a different way a cat could break their spine?" Ivymist asked.

"If a tree falls on them." Cloudpaw said.

"It's possible a monster could drive over it." Greenpaw said.

"If they fell off a tree." Echobreeze said.

"Those are all good ways. Echobreeze, what does that device do to your back?" Ivymist asked.

"It keeps my back legs and my spine lined up the way they should be. Pulling on different vines does different things." Echobreeze answered.

"Good. Echobreeze, what do you want to make sure you do if a cat brakes their spine?" Ivymist asked.

"You need to make sure they exercise. If they don't get out of their nest, they will get fluid in their chest and die. Also, Their front legs will need to be strong. It will always be their front legs that have to be strong, because if their spine brakes past their front legs, they will die." Echobreeze answered.

"Exactly. You are unlikely to ever have to cure a broken back, though it happened to Moonface and Echobreeze, both in my lifetime. Now, as Echobreeze will outlive me, you have to know how to replace these sticks." Ivymist said, then, in slow-mo, demonstrated how to replace a stick.

"Can I try?" Cloudpaw asked.

"Sure. Just don't rip the vines." Ivymist said, "Because then I'd have to remake the entire system."

Cloudpaw grabbed a stick and replaced it just like Ivymist did.

"Good." Ivymist said.

**Do you understand that thing on Echobreeze better now? Did you forget it was even there?**


	9. Chapter 9

Treespirit has a question that he wanted to ask Twilightstar. Twilightstar was, as usual, relaxing by the Moonlit-Stone.

"Twilightstar?" Treespirit asked when he got over to Twilightstar

"Yes, Treespirit?" Twilightstar answered.

"Can I ask you something?" Treespirit asked.

"Sure. Ask away." Twilightstar said.

"Why didn't you apprentice me at the same time as Endlessheart and Echobreeze?" Treespirit asked.

"I was wondering when you'd ask that. The reason was I wanted you to tell me that you were sorry for those things. I wanted you to show me that you were confident enough to talk to a leader, even if that was nervously or with help from another cat. Leaders are intimidating to kits, as you should know. Yes, you were un-confident enough for me to apprentice you at different times. Normally I try to apprentice littermates at the same time. If one kit was too sick or injured to become an apprentice, the other would have to wait. I apprenticed you at different times to crush your confidence. I wanted to see how you would deal with that." Twilightstar explained.

"Then why did you mention my honesty?" Treespirit asked.

"Because mentioning your confidence would have required explaining my plan, which for the most part, worked." Twilightstar answered. "Also, I would never apprentice someone late because they were trouble-makers. It's what kits do."

"Who was Moonface?" Treespirit asked.

"He was the person who basically took my place as Ivymist's father. That would have been impossible to do, because he was a medicine cat. He treated Ivymist like any other kit in the clan. Until she was four moons old, she didn't have a clue I was actually her father. I regret that, but there is no point in dwelling on the past." Twilightstar said. Treespirit saw Morningflight collapse to the ground.

Treespirit ran over to Morningflight. "The kits are coming." she breathed through the spasms that were shaking her body. Treespirit ran to the medicine cat den. The only cat who was there was Endlessheart.

Yes, Morningflight was going to have kits. I didn't mention it much because it isn't that important to the story.

"Morningflight is kitting!" Treespirit yelled to Endlessheart.

"I'm too sick to do it, so you're going to have to do it, Treespirit. Get the raspberry leaves. You know what they look like, right?" Endlessheart said.

"Okay. Yes, I do." Treespirit responded as he went into the herb stores to get the raspberry leaves. He carried them out to Morningflight.

"Somebody go get Ivymist!" He yelled.

"Morningflight, eat these." He said. Morningflight ate the herbs that Treespirit set in front of her.

"Is... Ivymist... coming?" Morningflight grunted.

"Yes." Treespirit said, rubbing his tail on Morningflight.

"Thanks for holding out for me." Ivymist said.

"You're doing great, Morningflight." Ivymist said. Treespirit was just staring at his mother. Suddenly, Morningflight was shaken by a huge spasm. (I suck at describing kitting...) "The first one is coming." Ivymist said. Another huge spasm shook Morningflight, and a kit slipped out.

"Lick." Ivymist ordered Treespirit. Treespirit started licking. He was so intent on licking the kit he didn't notice that Morningflight was done kitting.

"Treespirit, you can stop licking now." Ivymist's mew snapped Treespirit out of his trance. "Is Morningflight okay?" Treespirit asked. "Weak, but yes, she's okay." Ivymist answered. "Are the kits okay?" He asked.

"That one might be a bit wet, but yes, the kits are all fine." Ivymist said.

"You talk like I'm not here." Morningflight's mew shocked Treespirit.

Treespirit observed that there were three kits, two she-cats and a tom. "They're like an opposite of us." Treespirit observed.

Morningflight looked surprised for a minute. "Yes, they are." she agreed.

"They need names." Ivymist said.

"Thanks. I knew that." Morningflight said.

"You didn't went they were born." Ivymist said.

"I know. Are we going to continue, or am I actually going to name them today?" Morningflight asked.

Ivymist didn't answer.

"Good. Cloverkit, Flowerkit, and Thunderkit." Morningflight said, pointing to each of the kits with her tail. Treespirit realized that Thunderkit had a mark on his tail that looked like a lightning bolt.

Lightning makes things light, then dark. A voice breathed in his ear. Obviously, that prophecy was referring to Thunderkit. But what did it mean?

**What do you think it means?**


	10. Chapter 10

Three days had passed since Thunderkit, Cloverkit, and Flowerkit had been born. They had opened there eyes two days ago. Echobreeze was watching them play with Earthkit and Echokit. Echokit was bigger than all of them, and tripped over the much smaller Thunderkit, Cloverkit, and Flowerkit. Thunderkit, Cloverkit, and Flowerkit legs were barely above Echokit's knee. Echobreeze couldn't help but laugh when Flowerkit jumped on Echokit and Echokit collapsed.

"You can play with them, you know." Ivymist's mew shocked Echobreeze for a second.

"I know. It's just funny to watch." Echobreeze said.

"It's funny that Echokit is big for his age and Earthkit is small for his age." Echobreeze added.

"Yeah, it is. That mark on Thunderkit's tail has to mean something." Ivymist said.

"You do-" Echobreeze was cut off.

"I know. I think Treespirit knows something about it. He's been watching that kit for a long time." Ivymist said.

"Why do you keep referring to StarClan if you don't believe in them?" Echobreeze asked.

"I just recently changed that. I don't have faith in them, I hate them, and I really don't think they're that amazing. If they didn't exist, why would so many cats believe in them?" Ivymist asked.

"Then why do you think Thunderkit's tail is important, if you don't like them?" Echobreeze asked.

"I'm still not sure they even exist. I have a strange belief, just deal with it." Ivymist answered.

"Ask Treespirit why he keeps watching him." Ivymist told Echobreeze.

"Treespirit, why do you watch Thunderkit?" Echobreeze asked when she found him.

"Because there's a prophecy about him." Treespirit said.

"What is it?" Echobreeze asked.

"Lightning makes thing light, then dark." Treespirit answered.

"That has an obvious meaning." Echobreeze said.

"Since when were you the prophecy expert?" Treespirit asked.

"Since I fully interpreted everything that the prophecy about us means." Echobreeze said. "Well, barely interpreted." She corrected herself.

"What does it mean, then?" Treespirit asked.

"What does lightning do?" Echobreeze asked.

"It flashes for a second, then becomes dark again." Treespirit said.

"Then maybe Thunderkit will be normal, so something great, then become supposedly normal again, like a lightning flash in a dark sky. He would light it up, and become different than the dark sky. Lightning always then fades and blends in with the rest of the sky, becoming normal again. Warriors never observe the world enough to interpret prophecies. It's disappointing, actually." Echobreeze said.

"We're not medicine cats." Treespirit said.

"I was better at interpreting them than you." Echobreeze said.

"So? You're a medicine cat now." Treespirit said.

"A medicine cat apprentice. Didn't Endlessheart tell you what he came up with? I guess he wouldn't have had a chance, but still." Echobreeze said.

"Fine, and yes, he did." Treespirit said.

"Good." Echobreeze said.

"What's it like to be a medicine cat?" Treespirit asked suddenly.

"It's like the entire clan is your kits." Echobreeze said.

"Do you think I'm confident?" Treespirit asked.

"No." Echobreeze said.

"Why?" Treespirit asked.

"I'm not mouse-brained, Treespirit. You fell off that rock because you were nervous. Everybody's nervous the first time, but not that nervous." Echobreeze answered.

"I just fell.. I never actually felt nervous." Treespirit said.

"So you were, all at once, overwhelmed by being up there? I find that difficult to believe." Echobreeze said.

"I was nervous, but like I said, I really only feel comfortable discussing my confidence with Twilightstar." Treespirit said.

"Okay." Echobreeze said.

"I know Morningflight is my family, but still. Twilightstar understands it better than Morningflight." Treespirit said.

"Have you noticed when Morningflight talks to Twilightstar?" Echobreeze asked.

"No." Treespirit answered.

"She seems scared to say the wrong thing. I think she likes him." Echobreeze said.

"Why would Morningflight like Twilightstar?" Treespirit asked.

"StarClan knows. I think they both like each other, honestly, but both of their mates are dead, and they are scared about what they'd think. Typical." Echobreeze said.

"That would make us related to Ivymist. I'm not sure if I like that." Treespirit said.

"Do you think StarClan would approve?" Echobreeze asked.

"I would." Treespirit answered.

"Maybe I'll ask." Echobreeze said.

"Dawnsight is Twilightstar's sister." Treespirit said.

"I know, but Twilightstar doesn't." Echobreeze said.

"Echobreeze, that means all the cats in the prophecy are kin." Treespirit said.

"The only cat affected by that is Blazepaw, though." Twilightstar's mew shocked both cats.

"How long have you been standing there?" Echobreeze asked.

"Since the conversation changed to me and Morningflight." Twilightstar answered.

Echobreeze and Treespirit stared at each other, then back at Twilightstar. "Do you mind?" Echobreeze asked.

"Do you?" Twilightstar asked.

"No." Echobreeze and Treespirit said at the same time.

Twilightstar twitched his ears in amusement. "You were going to have to find out eventually, anyway." Twilightstar said.

Echobreeze could feel Treespirit shaking beside him. "If you have something you want to ask, ask it." She breathed.

"What about your other mates?" Treespirit asked.

"We can become their mates again in StarClan. Right now, there is no point in limiting our life because we can't move on from a cat's death." Twilightstar said.

"Do you think they mind?" Treespirit asked.

"Did feathertail mind? Did Spottedleaf mind?" Twilightstar asked.

"They both showed approval." Echobreeze said.

"Feathertail didn't. She simply told Crowfeather to move on from her death." Twilightstar said, "And anyway, if they did, they would've been listening to this entire conversation. They would understand." Twilightstar said.

Treespirit started shaking uncontrollably. Echobreeze pressed closer to him, and he stopped shaking. "Twilightstar?" Treespirit asked.

"Yes?" Twilightstar replied.

"How did I get in trouble if I'm not very confident?" Treespirit asked.

"Kits get into trouble. I haven't met a kit who didn't get into trouble at least once. Even Echobreeze and Endlessheart got into trouble. They stopped, you didn't." Twilightstar said.

"Why am I deputy?" Treespirit asked.

"The warrior code doesn't say you can't." Twilightstar said.

Echobreeze heard the screech of a cat, than "Help!" Instinctively, Twilightstar, Echobreeze, and Treespirit ran towards the sound. They found Featherkit, Earthkit, Echokit, Thunderkit, and Clover kit confronted by a badger. Echobreeze leaped in front of the kits, and started clawing at the badgers nose. She had been waiting since she broke her back to do this again. Twilightstar leaped onto the badger. The badger rammed itself against a tree, and Twilightstar fell, limp. Treespirit leaped onto the badger's neck and bit into it. The badger fell to the ground, dead. Echobreeze ran over to Twilightstar.

Echobreeze sniffed him. He was alive, but barely. I'll have to ask him if he lossed a life. Echobreeze thought.

"Is Twilightstar okay?" Treespirit asked.

"Yeah." Echobreeze answered. "Kits, jump on our backs. We need to carry Twilightstar back to camp.

The kits obeyed. Echobreeze grabbed Twilightstar's fur in her jaw. Treespirit did the same thing.

When they got back to camp, Ivymist ran up to them "Is Twilightstar okay?" Ivymist asked.

"Seven." Was all Echobreeze said. She went to the medicine cat den to get herbs.

She came out with cobwebs and chamomile. "Kits, eat this." She said, giving each kit some chamomile. "When, you're done, go to your mothers." She finished.

"What happened?" Ivymist asked.

"A badger was attacking the kits. It rammed Twilightstar against a tree." Echobreeze said. She put the cobwebs onto the wounds that Twilightstar had.

Morningflight walked up to Echobreeze. "Is he okay?" She asked. Echobreeze fought the urge to tell her right then and there that she knew why she was asking. Instead, she just nodded. "Can you help me take him to his den?" She asked. Morningflight nodded and picked up part of Twilightstar.

They laid Twilightstar down in the nest. "You know, don't you?" Morningflight asked. Echobreeze nodded. She was checking to make sure that Twilightstar's wounds hadn't gotten worse when they carried him up to his den. "Twilightstar overheard me and Treespirit speculating and confirmed it." Echobreeze said. "Was it obvious?" Morningflight sounded worried. "No. I only noticed because it's hard not to notice when a cat is, even if only a little bit, close to another cat." Echobreeze said. "Good, because I really don't want the entire clan to know." Morningflight said. "The clan is massive, Morningflight. Such a massive chance of it slipping into the other clans." Echobreeze said sarcastically. Morningflight laid down next to Twilightstar. "How many lives does he have left, anyway?" Morningflight asked. "Seven." Echobreeze answered.

Ivymist walked into the den. Morningflight stood up. Echobreeze twitched her ears in amusement. "What injuries does Twilightstar have?" Ivymist asked.

"You have eyes, don't you?" Echobreeze asked.

"Yes." Ivymist said.

Twilightstar started to move around in the nest that he was in.

"What?" He asked. Again, Echobreeze twitched her ears in amusement.

"A badger rammed you against a tree." Echobreeze answered.

"Oh." Twilightstar said.

**Oarngeflight of ShadowClan is awesome...**


	11. Chapter 11

Treespirit was watching the kits. They were pretending NightClan was invading. Echokit was Echostar. Thunderkit and Earthkit were invading, and Featherkit, Cloverkit, and Thunderkit were defending.

Echokit jumped on top of Earthkit, and Earthkit collapsed to the ground. Treespirit ran over to them

"Echokit, get off Earthkit." Treespirit snapped.

"But it's rude for someone other than the leader or mother of a kit tell them what to do." Treespirit twitched his ears in amusement, realizing that Echokit was right.

"But you're crushing him. I can tell you not to crush him. Also, it's scold, not tell what to do." Treespirit said.

"I don't want to get off." Echokit said.

"I can get Dawnsight." Treespirit said.

"You ruined our game!" Thunderkit yelled.

"I did?" Treespirit was surprised.

"Yes! You distracted Echostar from killing Earthkit, so EarthClan would win." Thunderkit said.

"'An honorable warrior does not need to kill other cats to win his battles, unless they are outside the warrior code or it is necessary for self-defence.'" Treespirit recognized Dawnsight. "And a leader, of all cats, should know that. Echokit, get off of Earthkit. Why don't you play with Treespirit?" Dawnsight finished. Echokit jumped off Earthkit.

"Because he's boring." Cloverkit said.

"I'm sure he could make himself fun." Dawnsight said.

"He's too boring and old to be fun!" Echokit complained.

"I'm older than Treespirit, and I'm fun. Also, I would have had to be young, but I'm old enough to be Treespirit's mom, too." Dawnsight said.

"I bet he knows what Twilightstar's warrior name was!" Featherkit said.

"Actually, I don't" Treespirit said.

"You fell off the Moonlit-Stone!" Featherkit yelled happily.

"Yes, I did." Treespirit said, trying not to get angry with the kits.

"That's enough of that. NO more playing today." Dawnsight said.

"But Treespirit's old and clumsy! It's not our fault! He just won't admit it!" Thunderkit complained.

Treespirit had skipped the angry stage. He was just sad. Is what they say true? It can't be, if they don't think Dawnsight's old. Treespirit thought. He ran up to Twilightstar's den.

He was pleased to see that no other cats were there.

"Treespirit?" Twilightstar asked.

"Am I old?" Treespirit asked.

"No." Twilightstar said.

"Am I clumsy?" Treespirit asked.

"No." Twilightstar answered.

"What was your warrior name?" Treespirit asked.

"Twilighthope." Twilightstar said.

"Is Dawnsight old enough to be my mother?" He asked.

"Am I old enough to be your father?" Twilightstar asked.

"Yes." Treespirit said.

"There you go." Twilightstar said.

"Am I boring?" Treespirit asked.

"No." Twilightstar answered.

"Are you wondering why I'm asking these questions?" Treespirit asked.

"No. Don't let kits get to you, Treespirit." Twilightstar said.

"It's difficult when they talk like they mean what they're saying." Treespirit said.

"Seriously, Treespirit. They're kits. They don't know what they're talking about. At this age they can hardly walk across the clearing, let alone have a meaningful conversation with anyone." Twilightstar said.

"Did you know Dawnsight was your sister?" Treespirit asked.

"No." Twilightstar answered.

"Are you half-clan?" Treespirit asked.

"The warrior code actually doesn't say anything about cross-clan relationships. It clearly states that you may have friends from other clans, but your loyalty must remain to your clan. As long as you're loyal, it shouldn't matter." Twilightstar said.

"You didn't answer my question." Treespirit said.

"Yes. Firestar was a kittypet." Twilightstar said.

"Mothwing didn't believe in StarClan, Cloudtail was a kittypet, Millie was a kittypet, Hawkfrost is evil, and Bramblestar had to prove himself by killing his brother. I know about all of that." Treespirit said.

"Swiftfoot was from CloudClan. Patchbone was from NightClan. Swiftfoot came to EarthClan because she didn't like CloudClan. She left Dawnsight with Patchbone, who moved to RainClan because he was being treated unfairly in NightClan. Swiftfoot and Patchbone had to battle each other, and both died from wounds from that battle. Patchbone lived longer than Swiftfoot, but not by much." Twilightstar said as though he had said it several times.

"That means you have kin in all of the clans." Treespirit said.

"It means you do, too. Remember, we are kin." Twilightstar said.

"We wouldn't be if you and Morningflight didn't-" Treespirit was cut off.

"Yes, we would. Treefrost is related to Patchbone. Patchbone's brother had kits with some EarthClan cat." Twilightstar said.

"How come I never knew any of this?" Treespirit asked.

"It's not something most cats know a lot about." Twilightstar said.

"It's fascinating, to know this." Treespirit said.

"Why does it seem like you're perfectly confident around me, but with other cats you're not?" Twilightstar asked.

"Because you know I'm not confident. If I say something that makes you feel uncomfortable or something else, you wouldn't say anything because I would have had to be confident to say it." Treespirit said.

"If I think that saying something against it will help, I will say it. But most of the time, you're right. I won't say anything." Twilightstar said.

"Can you tell me more about Clan History?" Treespirit asked.

"Don't you think that's a bit random?" Twilightstar asked.

"Yes, but it interests me. I want to know more about it. I think that you can learn more about yourself by knowing it." Treespirit said.

"Treespirit, how would you feel if I said no?" Twilightstar asked.

"Don't." Treespirit said.

"I'm not going to. I just want to know." Twilightstar said.

"Why?" Treespirit asked. He hoped that Twilightstar couldn't tell that he didn't want to answer.

Twilightstar sighed. "Because. I say yes, most of the time I would anyway. I would say yes right now anyway. Treespirit, how you would react to this would help me know how much this matters to you." Twilightstar said.

"I would feel like you didn't care anymore. I would hate you, and want to kill you. I would feel like you didn't want me to do what I wanted. It would be like I had gotten no more confident. It would be like what I've done isn't an achievement. It would be like Treefrost telling me I was a weak, useless lump of nothing. You are like a Treefrost that is still alive." Treespirit said. He was looking down now, he didn't want to meet Twilightstar's eyes.

He could feel Twilightstar next to him. "Treespirit, I will never be a replacement for Treefrost. Treefrost gave up patrol after patrol. He gave up being deputy so he could play with you. I will tell you more about Clan history." Twilightstar said.

"You'll always be my mentor, Twilightstar." Treespirit said.

"Yep. Just don't kill me if I say no to something." Twilightstar said.

"I won't." Treespirit said.

"Don't let kits get to you, Treespirit." Twilightstar said.

"How long have these clans been here?" Treespirit asked.

"Since my grandparents grandparents, and we left five generations after Firestar's." Twilightstar said.

"Why'd we leave in the first place?" Treespirit asked.

"There were too many cats for the lake to sustain." Twilightstar said.

"How do you know all this?" Treespirit asked.

"Use past knowledge to help you in the present, but don't dwell on it. Past knowledge." Twilightstar said. Treespirit was confused.

"What?" He asked.

"Do I need to repeat myself? I will explain it, just not now." Twilightstar said.

"Should I go play with the kits?" Treespirit asked.

"Sure. I'm serious, though. Don't let them get to you." Twilightstar said.

"Okay." Treespirit said as he walked out of the den.

He ran to the nursery. He found the kits wrestling outside.

"I'm going to play with you." He said.

"But you don't know any good games!" Thunderkit complained.

"I can think of a good game." Treespirit said.

"Yeah, right!" Thunderkit said.

"He could be NightClan invading!" Flowerkit cheered happily.

"It be an unfair fight. One on five isn't a very fair fight." Treespirit said.

"Then Cloverkit and Featherkit can be in NightClan!" Echokit yelled happily.

"I don't want to play." Thunderkit said.

"Why not?" Treespirit asked.

"I don't want to play." Thunderkit said.

"Yeah, but why don't you?" Treespirit asked.

"I don't want to, okay? I just don't want to!" Thunderkit yelled.

"Thunderkit, that isn't normal. Are you okay?" Treespirit asked.

"What's wrong with not wanting to play?" Thunderkit asked.

"Kits are normally itching to play. You don't have to play if you don't want to, though." Treespirit said. Thunderkit went to sit by the entrance to the nursery.

"Now it's three on two. Featherkit, go be in EarthClan." Treespirit said.

After a while of playing, Morningflight walked up to them.

"Treespirit, why aren't you playing with Thunderkit?" She snapped.

Treespirit blinked. "He didn't want to play."

"Thunderkit, why don't you want to play?" Morningflight asked.

"I don't want to." Thunderkit said.

"I'm taking you to Ivymist." Morningflight said.

"No! I don't want to eat those stinky herbs!" Thunderkit yelled.

"Morningflight, I'll take him." Treespirit offered.

"Thanks, Treespirit." Morningflight said. Treespirit picked up Thunderkit. "Where are we going?" Thunderkit wailed.

"To see your father." Treespirit said, jumping up to Twilightstar's den.

"Hello." Twilightstar said.

"Thunderkit didn't want to play." Treespirit said.

"Why?" Twilightstar asked.

"I'm fine!" Thunderkit wailed.

"That didn't answer the question." Twilightstar said.

"I don't like playing." Thunderkit said.

"Why?" Twilightstar asked.

"Because it's hard to play." Thunderkit said.

"Treespirit, take Thunderkit to Ivymist. Now. This is not normal." Twilightstar's mew was heavy with order.

**dun, Dun, DUN!**


	12. Chapter 12

Endlessheart was sorting the dried out herbs from the not dried out ones when he heard a cat walk in.

He turned around, and it was Treespirit. He was carrying Thunderkit. "Thunderkit didn't want to play because it was too hard." Treespirit explained.

"Then his muscles are probably weak. Treespirit, he needs to become an apprentice now. It's the only way he will get strong enough. Otherwise, his muscles will just stay weak." Endlessheart said.

"But he's not even a moon old!" Treespirit said.

"He doesn't need to battle. He needs to exercise, Treespirit." Endlessheart said.

"Can't I get stronger without becoming an apprentice?" Thunderkit asked.

"Yes. Treespirit will help you." Endlessheart said.

"Go tell Twilightstar." Endlessheart added.

Treespirit came back a few moments later with Twilightstar. Thunderkit ran over to him.

"Somethings wrong with his muscles, right?" Twilightstar asked.

"Yes. I'm afraid that if he doesn't start exercising them now, they will just stay weak, and he won't be able to battle. Or do anything a warrior would do." Endlessheart said.

"This is like what Echobreeze said that prophecy might mean." Treespirit looked surprised that he had said anything.

"What prophecy?" Endlessheart asked.

"Lightning makes thing light, then dark. Echobreeze said it might mean that-" Endlessheart cut him off.

"That can't be the entire prophecy." Endlessheart said.

"Then what is the full prophecy?" Treespirit asked.

"Lightning makes things light, then dark. Thunder follows lightning. Thunder is slower than lightning." Endlessheart said.

"What? That just describes a thunderstorm!" Twilightstar yowled angrily.

"It describes much more than a thunderstorm." Endlessheart said.

"Explain it, then." Treespirit said.

"Thunder is slower than lightning. Lightning would be the other kits, and Thunder would be Thunderkit." Endlessheart said.

Echobreeze walked into the den.

"What does lightning do?" Echobreeze asked no-one in particular.

"It makes things light, than dark." Treespirit said.

"What else does it do?" Echobreeze asked.

"It would kill a cat if it hit them." Endlessheart said.

"Thunder is harmless. The other kits are lightning, they would be dangerous. If they 'hit' someone." Echobreeze said.

"Does that mean my kits are dangerous?" Twilightstar asked.

Endlessheart was confused. They were Morningflight's kits, right?

"There.. your kits?" Endlessheart asked.

"Yes." Twilightstar said.

"It means Thunderkit is going to save us from Flowerkit and Cloverkit." Echobreeze said. Endlessheart noticed that Echobreeze and Endlessheart didn't look surprised at all by Twilightstar calling the kits his.

"Endlessheart?" Twilightstar asked.

"Yes?" Endlessheart asked.

"They are me and Morningflight's kits." Twilightstar said.

"Oh." Endlessheart said. How could Twilightstar? How could Morningflight? They both had mates already!

"You don't mind, do you?" Twilightstar asked.

"Mind? MIND? Mind is an understatement. I a little bit more than mind. You both have mates! How could you do this?" Endlessheart snarled. He stormed out of the den and ran to a small cave that he had built a pretend nest in when he was a kit.

Moments later, he heard the pawsteps of a cat. He was too annoyed to care. Then he realized they belonged to NightClan. He got up and ran a silently as he could back to camp.

"NightClan is invading!" He shouted.

Twilightstar walked out of the den. "Really?" He asked.

"Yes! I could smell them!" He yelled.

Twilightstar ran to the entrance of the camp. "NightClan is invading!" He yowled.

Suddenly, there was yowl. Cats leaped into the clearing. One leaped onto Endlessheart. He started clawing furiously at it. I have no battle training! He realized as he felt a strong blow to his jaw. He was pinned to the ground, and he couldn't do anything. Suddenly he felt the weight come off of him. He could see that it was Echobreeze. "How dare you attack our medicine cat?" She snarled as she clawed at the cat.

"You have too many!" The cat snarled back, flipping over and pinning Echobreeze to the ground.

Endlessheart could see Twilightstar talking, or, more accurately, fighting with a cat who Endlessheart assumed was NightClan's leader. He sneaked over and hid behind a bush.

"Why are you attacking our camp?" Twilightstar snarled.

"Because you have too many medicine cats." The cat snarled back.

"Our number of medicine cats has nothing to do with you!" Twilightstar snarled, dodging a blow from the cat.

"It does if you're medicine cats steal from our medicine cat supply!" The cat snarled.

"Our medicine cats haven't been on your territory!" Twilightstar said.

"Then why are our medicine supplies missing?" The cat snarled.

"Maybe you need to learn to keep prey out of your supplies!" Twilightstar said.

"There is no scent of prey! This is the only clan arrogant enough to steal from another's herbs!" The cat said.

"Have you smelled which clan it came from?" Twilightstar said. Endlessheart noticed that he was calm.

"No. We will leave your camp, but this is not over. NightClan, retreat! We've taught them lesson!" The cat yowled, leaping out of the camp. The NightClan cats followed.

Endlessheart walked out from behind the bush. He noticed that Morningflight was one of the few cats who didn't get up right away. Even at this distance, he could see that she was barely breathing. He leaped over to her.

"Morningflight?" He asked. she had a long gash along her back, and several smaller ones on her body.

"I'm okay." She said weakly.

Endlessheart ran to the medicine cat den to get herbs, only to find that all the herbs were in shreds. He frantically started looking for good herbs, only to find that there were none.

He ran out of the medicine cat den. He ran to where Ivymist was standing. "Our supplies have been destroyed." He informed Ivymist.

"And all of our warriors have bad wounds. We will be recovering from this unfair battle for a while." Ivymist said.

"Should I go gather more herbs?" Endlessheart asked.

Ivymist shook her head. "I just went to go get more because we were running low. NightClan has destroyed all of the herbs in our territory." Ivymist said.

"Then what are we going to do?" Endlessheart asked.

"I don't know. From what I understand, our territory is also running dangerously low on prey. There is hardly enough prey for all of us." Ivymist said.

Twilightstar walked up to them. "We have to leave our territory. It can no longer sustain us." He said.

**MWA HA HA HA HA! I was itching to write another battle...**

**oh, and yes, the WindClan battle in "Bluestar's prophecy" did give me some of the inspiration.**


	13. Chapter 13

Echobreeze walked over to where Ivymist, Endlessheart, and Twilightstar were talking. "What are we going to do?" She asked.

"We have to leave our territory." Twilightstar said.

"No! We can't!" Echobreeze said.

"Echobreeze, there are no herbs on our territory. We have little prey for all of us. We have no choice. We have to leave." Twilightstar said.

"Right now?" Echobreeze asked.

Twilightstar nodded, then leaped onto the Moonlit-Stone.

"Will all cats able to gather beneath the Moonlit-Stone for a clan meeting!" He yowled.

All the cats gathered, confused. Even the kits were staring up at Twilightstar in anticipation. "We have to leave our territory. There are no herbs in our territory, and there isn't enough prey." He said. The cats all looked surprised. "But we're too weak!" several cats yelled.

"We'll only get weaker if we don't leave." Twilightstar said.

"Where will we go?" Dawnsight asked.

"We'll try to get close to where ThunderClan lives." Twilightstar said. He leaped down from the Moonlit-Stone.

"Who's ThunderClan?" The kits asked.

"The clan that we used to be before we moved here." Twilightstar told them.

"When are we leaving?" Thunderkit squeaked.

"Right now." Twilightstar said. Flowerkit, Cloverkit, and Thunderkit leaped onto his back, soon to be followed by Earthkit and Echokit.

"We'll have to carry the cats that are too weak." Ivymist said. She picked up part of Morningflight. "Thanks. My paws hurt too much anyway." She said. Endlessheart helped Ivymist.

"That would be the kits, Morningflight, Cloudpaw, Sunpaw, and Blazepaw." Twilightstar said. The cats picked up the cats that Twilightstar had named. "I know the way." Echobreeze said. Her voice was muffled because she was carrying Cloudpaw.

"Okay." Twilightstar said. Echobreeze and Treespirit were carrying Cloudpaw. Suddenly, Echobreeze stopped walking.

"What?" Twilightstar asked.

"There's a better way to carry them. Treespirit, put Cloudpaw on my back." Echobreeze said. Treespirit did what Echobreeze said. The other cats copied them.

Three days had past since EarthClan had left their camp. They were resting in a small dip in the ground that they had found. The kits were playing, but Endlessheart realized that all of the cats were very thin. The only cat who hadn't mostly recovered from her wounds was Morningflight. Endlessheart had promised Twilightstar that she would be fine, but he wasn't sure. The gash on her back had become infected, and Endlessheart couldn't find any chervil.

Twilightstar walked up to him. "Have you found any chervil yet?" He asked. "No. I found some, but it wasn't enough." He said.

"Morningflight has a fever now." He said.

"I'll check it." He said. He walked over to where Morningflight was laying. He could feel the heat coming off of her.

"You have a fever." He said.

Morningflight nodded. Endlessheart walked back to Twilightstar.

"I'm going to go look for herbs." He said.

"Okay." Twilightstar said.

Endlessheart ran into the woods near where they were resting. He sniffed for chervil, but he couldn't smell any. He sniffed for feverfew, and he found some. He ran over to it, and he found some horsetail next to it. He gathered both, then ran back to camp.

"I found some herbs." He informed Morningflight. He got some fresh cobwebs.

"Eat this." He gave Morningflight the feverfew, then put on new cobwebs with the horsetail.

Thunderkit ran up to him. "Is Morningflight okay?" He asked. "Yes." He said, picking up the kit and carrying it to where the other kits were playing.

Three more days had past. Morningflight had gotten worse, and Endlessheart had told Twilightstar, His littermates, and the kits that Morningflight might not live. The kits were still too young to fully understand, but Twilightstar and Endlessheart's littermates understood it. Also, Blazepaw had gotten worse, and a fox attacked them Blazepaw was renamed Blazebush because he helped defeat the fox.

Endlessheart walked over to where Morningflight was. He gave her some wet moss, which she weakly lapped at. She was too weak to chew herbs, so he gave her some travelling herbs so she would stay strong.

"Are you okay?" He asked her.

"Yes." She answered.

Endlessheart walked over to where Blazebush was laying. "How are you?" He asked, then realized he wouldn't be able to answer. Instead, he looked at Blazebush's neck wound. It was infected, and he had a fever. He did the same thing with Blazebush that he did with Morningflight. He vomited up the herbs that he had eaten.

Endlessheart decided to play with the kits. He pretended that they pinned him to the ground, even though he easily could have flung them off.

"Will all cats who are able to gather here for a clan meeting!" Twilightstar yowled.

"We are almost to ThunderClan's territory." He said. Endlessheart could hear a cat coughing. He saw that it was Blazebush. He ran over to him. He was coughing up blood. Morningflight was watching him. Suddenly, Blazebush collapsed. Endlessheart could see that his breaths were getting smaller and smaller. "He's dying." He said when Twilightstar and Dawnsight walked over. He gasped, then stopped breathing altogether. "Blazebush!" Dawnsight wailed, then dug her nose into his fur.

"Wait! That's what the prophecy said! 'the blaze won't be enough!'" Endlessheart shouted.

"The blaze won't be enough for what?" Dawnsight asked, voice laced with grief.

"To light the path Nightpaw and Treespirit are following, apparently." Endlessheart said.

Blazebush had been buried by a bush that looked like the one he had been found by, and the clans had continued to walk to ThunderClan. Twilightstar said that today they would get to ThunderClan. Morningflight had gotten better, and her wounds had healed. The kits were leaping happily between the warriors.

Treespirit walked up to Endlessheart. "Twilightstar told me something interesting." He said.

"What?" He asked.

"The story of how 'No warrior may neglect a kit in pain or in danger, even if that kit is from a different clan' became part of the warrior code." Treespirit said.

Even though Endlessheart didn't share Treespirit's interest in clan history, he pretended to be interested. The truth was he found it boring. "What is it?" He asked.

"There were these kits that were drowning in the river. They drowned because the medicine cat didn't let a cat save them because they were from a different clan. Later the medicine cat suggested that it be added to the warrior code at a gathering. I think that it is interesting because the cat that prevented a cat from saving the kits suggested that it be added to the warrior code." Treespirit said.

"That's cool." He said, trying to sound interested even though he wasn't.

"You know what else is cool?" Treespirit asked.

You shutting it. Endlessheart bit back the response. "No." He said, "What?"

"That we are related to Firestar. Firestar was a kittypet. He saved the clans a lot of times, though." Treespirit said.

Twilightstar walked up to them. "We are related to Firestar's sister, Princess, so we are related to him." He said.

"So? You said we were related to Firestar." Treespirit said.

"Very, very indirectly." Twilightstar said.

"Why do we have to check our borders every day?" Treespirit asked.

"Because one time an apprentice crossed the border by accident because the borders weren't marked. The other clan challenged them even though it was their fault that the apprentice crossed the border. They didn't check that border because it was useless to them." Twilightstar said.

"Why is this so boring?" Endlessheart asked.

"It's not. It's fascinating." Treespirit said.

"No, Treespirit. It's boring, dumb, and I don't understand how anybody could find it even remotely interesting." Endlessheart said.

"I think it's interesting." Endlessheart didn't realize that Treespirit's voice was laced with hurt.

"Then you are a boring, useless blob of nothing." Endlessheart said.

"Twilightstar said I'm not boring." Treespirit said.

"That doesn't change the fact that it's boring. There is no point to it." Endlessheart said.

"Yes there is." Treespirit said. He wasn't looking at Endlessheart anymore.

"What? Name one use for it!" Endlessheart yelled right next to Treespirit's face.

"You can know why things are the way they are. It can be like a reason to do things." Treespirit said.

"Endlessheart! Stop doing this! Can't you see that you're being mean?" Twilightstar snapped.

"No! I don't care. If I do it enough, he'll stop being such a boring excuse for a cat!" Endlessheart yelled. Suddenly, Treespirit leaped at him and pinned him to the ground, face down. "You don't mean that!" He yelled. He was clawing at Endlessheart's back.

"Twilightstar, why are you letting him do this?" Endlessheart asked.

"Because you kind of deserve it." Twilightstar said.

"I won't kill you, Endlessheart. But I'll give you some wounds to think about!" Treespirit yelled.

"Why don't you kill me? Are you too scared?" Endlessheart taunted.

"No! You're my littermate. I will never kill one of my littermates, no matter how ignorant they are!" He yelled. Endlessheart could feel him jump off. Endlessheart stood up. Treespirit was standing next to Twilightstar, and he looked tired.

"'An honorable warrior does not need to kill other cats to win his or her battles, unless they are outside the warrior code or it is necessary for self-defence.' I may have been defending myself, but you weren't attacking back." Treespirit said.

Endlessheart could feel the wounds that Treespirit had given him. He looked at Treespirit. "Whatever happened in the past to make that code prevented me from killing you. Without that, you would have been dead." Treespirit said. "See what the past can do?" He asked.

Endlessheart nodded. "I respect that it interests you more than me." He said. "I'm sorry for saying that."

"Thanks. Are you okay?" Treespirit asked.

Endlessheart turned to look at his back, then turned back. "Yes." He said.

"Good." Treespirit said.

Twilightstar stopped walking. "Now we just have to wait for a patrol to come by." He said. Sure enough, a patrol came by. "Are you from the mountain clans?" The leading cat asked.

"Yes. Are you from ThunderClan?" Twilightstar asked.

"Yes. Do you want to speak with our leader?" The cat asked.

"Yes." Twilightstar said.

"Then follow me." The cat said, then turned around.

"Are you insane, Volefang? We don't know these cats, and you're taking them to the center of our territory?" A cat snapped.

"Calm down, Tigerpaw. Can't you see they look weak? They couldn't do much to us if they wanted to!" The cat said.

"And we don't. We were basically driven from our territory." Twilightstar said.

"I assume you're the leader, but who is your deputy?" Volefang asked.

"My deputy is Treespirit." Twilightstar said, pointing to Treespirit with his tail.

"Who are you?" Volefang asked.

"Twilightstar." Twilightstar answered.

"Who is your medicine cat?" Volefang asked.

"We had six, but one died from wounds on the way here." Twilightstar said.

"Who's your main medicine cat, then?" Volefang asked.

"Ivymist." Twilightstar said, and he pointed to Ivymist.

"Okay." Volefang said, and resumes walking.

They arrived at the camp in moments. "Cloudstar! These mountain clan cats wish to speak with you!" Volefang yowled.

"Again? Okay." A cat that Endlessheart could only assume was Cloudstar walked over to Volefang.

"Their leader, Twilightstar, wants to talk to you. From the sound of it, he doesn't care of it's private or not." Volefang said.

"Okay, Twilightstar. Why do you want to speak with me?" Cloudstar asked.

"Take a wild guess." Twilightstar said.

"You want to stay here. That was obvious. You don't look like wherever you were before was doing much." Cloudstar said.

"You're right. NightClan attacked all the herbs in our territory, including both ones that were growing and the ones in our medicine cat stores. They attacked us because they thought we had stolen their herbs, even though we haven't set paw on their territory. There wasn't enough prey in our territory, so we left because, like you said, it wasn't 'doing much.'" Twilightstar said.

"You can always count on ShadowClan descendants to attack for no good reason other than they feel like it. We will make a den for you and your warriors in that corner of the camp." Cloudstar said, pointing to a corner of the camp.

"Thank you." Twilightstar said.

"Blackfang, Volefang, Tigerpaw, Sparrowthicket, and Redclaw, go help build these cats a den." Cloudstar yowled.

"Should we help?" Twilightstar asked.

"If you want to." Cloudstar said.

"Okay. Treespirit, Venomgaze, Echobreeze, and Morningflight, go help them." Twilightstar said.

"I will let you keep your authority over your cats." Cloudstar said, then yelled. "Make a wall instead! They can have a mini-camp within ours!"

"Thanks." Twilightstar said.

"No problem. Prey has been abundant for leaf-fall." Cloudstar said.

"It has? We haven't had enough prey since the beginning of Greenleaf." Twilightstar said.

"I can tell. We must look like kittypets to you." Cloudstar said.

"You do, to me at least. At least well-fed to all of us" Twilightstar said.

"Which mountain clan are you from?" Cloudstar asked.

"EarthClan." Twilightstar said.

Cloudstar leaped onto a rock. "Will all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here for a clan meeting!" He yowled.

All the cats did that.

"EarthClan has come to our camp because they had to leave theirs. Twilightstar is their leader, Treespirit is their deputy, and their medicine cats are Ivymist, Endlessheart, Echobreeze, Cloudpaw, and Greenpaw." Cloudstar paused. "Their leader will continue to be their leader. They will continue to be EarthClan. Think of it as us sharing our territory with them."

Cloudstar leaped down from the rock.

The wall was built and EarthClan was working on building its camp. Twilightstar had piled a bunch of rocks together to make a place to address the clan from. He had also built his den behind it. They had also made a den for the medicine herbs, the medicine cat apprentices, the full medicine cats, the medicine cat leader, the apprentices, the warriors, and the nursery. They had also assigned a place to be the fresh-kill pile.

Endlessheart was watching Twilightstar pace in front of the pile of rocks. He walked over to see what he was doing. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Thinking of what to call this, and how to address the clan from it." Twilightstar answered.

"Will all cats above the age of 3 moons gather by the Rock Pile for a clan meeting." Endlessheart said.

"Okay." Twilightstar said.

"Twilightstar?" Endlessheart asked.

"What?" Twilightstar said.

"Why is Treespirit so interested in clan history?" Endlessheart asked.

"I don't know, Endlessheart. He just is." Twilightstar said.

"Why did you let Treespirit attack me?" Endlessheart asked.

"You deserved it." Twilightstar said.

"Why did he attack me?" Endlessheart asked.

"He was mad and hurt." Twilightstar said.

"Does he know I have no battle training?" Endlessheart asked.

"I didn't. Why don't you?" Twilightstar asked.

"Because Ivymist thinks it would be too difficult for me to do." Endlessheart said.

"She's probably right." Twilightstar said.

"It would be nice to know some battle moves, though. I got attacked

during the battle, and all I could do was let the cat attack." Endlessheart said.

"Don't mention that battle." Twilightstar said.

"Why not?" Endlessheart asked.

"I don't like to think about it. I don't want to think about it. That defeat bothers me. I don't like fleeing." Twilightstar said.

"We had no choice, Twilightstar." Endlessheart said.

"I know. That's what bothers me about it. I feel like I should have been able to prevent it." Twilightstar said.

"You couldn't have done anything." Endlessheart said.

"I feel like I should have been able to do something." Twilightstar said.

"Don't dwell on the past, Twilightstar. You did the right thing for the clan by bringing them to a safe place." Endlessheart said.

"You think so?" Twilightstar asked.

"Yes." Endlessheart said.

"Thanks, Endlessheart." Twilightstar said.

Twilightstar and Endlessheart stared into each others eyes for a while.

"Endlessheart, do you still feel the same way about me and Morningflight?" Twilightstar asked.,

"I don't like it, but I respect it." Endlessheart said.

"Do you know that I'm half-clan?" Twilightstar asked.

"You are?" Endlessheart asked.

"Yes. My mom lived in CloudClan before she went to EarthClan, and my dad lived in NightClan before he went to RainClan." Twilightstar said.

"Okay." Endlessheart said.

"That isn't really half-clan, is it?" Twilightstar asked.

"Not really." Endlessheart said.

Again, Twilightstar and Endlessheart stared at each other for a while.

"I still think that clan history is boring." Endlessheart said.

"Treespirit likes it." Twilightstar said.

Endlessheart could smell Cloudstar walking up to them. "Hello. I see you're settling in here well." He said.

"Yes." Twilightstar said.

"Good. You know that the gathering is tomorrow, right?" Cloudstar asked.

"Yes." Twilightstar said.

"Does your clan need anything?" Cloudstar asked.

"Just rest." Twilightstar said.

"Okay." Cloudstar said.

A quarter-moon had passed since EarthClan had found ThunderClan, and, for the most part, everyone was fine. Twilightstar was pacing in front of his den, which had become normal. The kits were playing moss ball with Morningflight, and Treespirit was hiding under a bush. That's not normal. Endlessheart thought as he walked over to Treespirit.

"What are you doing?" Endlessheart asked.

"Avoiding everyone else." Treespirit said.

"Why?" Endlessheart asked.

"Because." Treespirit said.

"That doesn't answer the question." Endlessheart said.

"I like it here." Treespirit said.

Endlessheart twitched his ears in frustration. "You still haven't answered the question." Endlessheart said.

"Because I don't feel like talking to anyone right now." Treespirit said.

"You're deputy, Treespirit. Deputies don't hide under bushes." Endlessheart said.

"Why not?" Treespirit asked.

"Because they should be doing other things. They don't have time to hide under bushes." Endlessheart said.

"Okay." Treespirit said, and crawled out from behind the bush.

Endlessheart walked over to Twilightstar. "What are you thinking about right now?" He asked.

"Whether or not the other clans miss us. I don't see NightClan missing use, but for some reason I think the other clans do. I also wonder if NightClan took our territory." Twilightstar said.

"Our territory is useless to NightClan, Twilightstar." Endlessheart said.

"So? They basically drove us out. It would make them look more powerful to take control of it." Twilightstar said.

"NightClan doesn't need that much territory." Endlessheart said.

"We probably look weak to the other clans." Twilightstar said.

"We kind of are." Endlessheart said.

"No, NightClan is stealing our prey. They destroyed all of our herbs so we couldn't heal ourselves. NightClan made us look weak. The other clans haven't come to bring us back to the mountains. It's like StarClan forgot about us." Twilightstar said.

Treespirit walked over. "Don't go Bluestar on us, Twilightstar." Treespirit said.

"I won't, Treespirit. Notice how I said 'It's LIKE StarClan forgot about us." Twilightstar said.

"Who's Bluestar?" Endlessheart asked.

"A leader whose deputy betrayed the clan. She thought that StarClan would have warned her, so she started hating them. She thought WindClan was stealing their prey, even though it was dogs." Treespirit said.

"Tigerstar was her deputy. He became leader of ShadowClan. He lost all nine lives at once." Twilightstar said.

"How many times do I have to say it? I think this is boring." Endlessheart said.

"We know, Endlessheart." Treespirit said.

"Why haven't the other clans come to get us yet?" Twilightstar asked.

"They might not know we left." Endlessheart said.

"They would have found out at the gathering." Twilightstar said.

"They might not want us to come back." Treespirit said.

"Why wouldn't they want us to come back?" Twilightstar asked.

"I don't know." Treespirit said.

"Are we going to go back?" Endlessheart asked.

"No." Twilightstar said.

"Why not?" Treespirit asked.

"Because I don't want to go back only to have to deal with NightClan." Twilightstar said.

"But we could defeat them now." Treespirit said.

"We are still a weak clan, Treespirit. We still haven't fully recovered from their attack." Twilightstar said.

"We are a strong clan!" Treespirit said.

"I would like to think it, Treespirit, but we aren't." Twilightstar said.

"Yes we are!" Treespirit said.

"Treespirit, listen to me. We aren't. Look around. Do we look strong?" Twilightstar said.

Treespirit looked around the camp. Endlessheart could see his eyes flickering with different feelings.

"No." He said, finally.

"Both of you, listen. Can you promise to put the general well being of the clan above yourselves? Meaning you would always give something to a cat who needs it more before yourself?" Twilightstar asked.

"I can." Treespirit said.

"Endlessheart?" Twilightstar asked.

"Yes." Endlessheart said.

"Then like a leader you will defend this clan with your life, and your clanmates will always come before yourself." Twilightstar said.

Treespirit and Endlessheart nodded.

**And they didn't realize how important that promise was... dun, Dun, DUN!**

**Sorry, that was the best cliffhanger I could come up with. Did you like it? **

**And no, the promise isn't going to play out like the promise in "Crookedstar's Promise." I can't say I won't use it to kill one of them, I might, I might not. You'll just have to wait and see, won't you? **


	14. Chapter 14

Five days had passed since Treespirit had made that promise to Twilightstar. So far, Treespirit thought he was doing pretty good at it. It was sun-high, the time of day Twilightstar would normally tell him more about clan history, but lately he had been to out-of-it with his pacing to do anything.

Treespirit decided to go see if Twilightstar could tell him anything about clan history. He walked over to Twilightstar.

"Twilightstar?" Treespirit asked. Twilightstar continued pacing. Treespirit tried again. "Twilightstar?" He asked louder.

"What?" Twilightstar asked, still pacing.

"It's sun-high." Treespirit said.

"That's nice." Twilightstar said. Treespirit walked in front of his path.

"You have to stop doing this, Twilightstar. Pacing isn't doing anything for anyone." Treespirit said.

"No." Twilightstar said, pushing him out of the way. Treespirit could tell that his claws were unsheathed.

Treespirit stood back up.

"Yes." He said firmly as he stepped into Twilightstar's path again.

Twilightstar clawed on his jaw and pushed him out of the way. Treespirit got back up, and got back into the path again. "I won't stop getting in your way." Treespirit said.

"You better." Twilightstar said, clawing him out of the way again.

Treespirit leaped and pinned Twilightstar to the ground, face down. "Twilightstar, you have to stop this." Treespirit said.

"No." Twilightstar said.

"Twilightstar, you can't help your clan like this. They need you, Twilightstar. They trust you to make the best judgement." Treespirit said.

"No they don't." Twilightstar said.

"Yes, they do." Treespirit said. He could feel Twilightstar's muscles un tense.

"They do?" Twilightstar asked.

"Of course they do, mouse-brain. You're their leader." Treespirit said.

"Can you get off now?" Twilightstar asked.

"Not until you promise never to be like Bluestar again." Treespirit said.

"Fine." Twilightstar said. Treespirit jumped off.

"What were you thinking about, anyway?" Treespirit asked.

"That battle." Twilightstar said.

"Why?" Treespirit asked.

"I don't know why they attacked us." Twilightstar said

"They think we stole their herbs." Treespirit said.

"No, it's more than that. It has to be. They would have brought it up at the gathering instead." Twilightstar said.

"You know NightClan. They'll look for any excuse for a battle." Treespirit said.

"They wouldn't drive us out, though." Twilightstar said.

"Why wouldn't they? More territory for them." Treespirit said.

"Because there were always four clans in the mountains!" Twilightstar said.

"Now there's three." Treespirit said.

"Well, yes, but we are still one of the mountain clans." Twilightstar said.

"Do you think the other clans care that we're gone?" Treespirit asked.

"No." Twilightstar said.

"Why not?" Treespirit asked.

"Because somebody would have come to get us by now, don't you think?" Twilightstar asked.

"Maybe. Maybe they have, they just don't know where we went." Treespirit said.

"Fireheart and Greystripe could find WindClan." Twilightstar said.

"We went way farther than WindClan." Treespirit said.

"I know. I don't know why that defeat bothers me so much." Twilightstar said.

"Because we had to flee, and fleeing your territory is a hard choice to make, possibly?" Treespirit asked.

"It was easy to see that we had to leave. Actually saying that you have to leave is hard, though, because you don't know if you'll get to a place that will make you any better off." Twilightstar said.

"Or if you'll get to the place that you're going." Treespirit said.

"I prefer not to think about that option." Twilightstar said.

A cat walked up to them. It was Cloudstar.

"The leader of NightClan would like to speak with you." Cloudstar said.

"I will never speak to that fox-heart." Twilightstar said.

"Your loss. It sounded important." Cloudstar said.

"Fine. Bring Eaglestar in here if he wants to talk to me so badly." Twilightstar said.

Cloudstar came back a few moments later with what Treespirit assumed was the leader of NightClan, Eaglestar.

"Why have you come here?" Twilightstar asked.

"I want to bring you back to the clans. If you don't want to go back, though, that's your loss." Eaglestar said.

"You drove us out! Don't pretend to be sorry when you know you're not." Twilightstar said.

"We didn't realize prey was running so low in your territory." Eaglestar said.

"And I assume you didn't know we needed those herbs, too?" Twilightstar asked.

"We were only doing what you were doing to us." Eaglestar said.

"Like I said, we didn't take your herbs!" Twilightstar said. Treespirit saw him unsheath his claws.

"Willowtear said she smelled EarthClan. As any leader would, I believed my medicine cat. Or do you overlook that detail?" Eaglestar said.

"Calm down, both of you!" Cloudstar yelled.

"Did you ever consider the option that Willowtear lied? Did you check it yourself?" Twilightstar asked.

"Willowtear would never lie. Of course I checked it myself. What leader is stupid enough to attack a clan without knowing whether or not they should attack?" Eaglestar said.

"You, apparently. Do you know what you did to my clan?" Twilightstar yelled at Eaglestar.

"I'm going to overlook that small offensive statement. Yes, I do know what I did to your clan. My clan left you herbless." Eaglestar said.

"Yep. And I'm going to leave yours leaderless!" Twilightstar said. He leaped at Eaglestar.

"Have fun with that. I have 5 lives left." Eaglestar said.

"That's not something you tell someone trying to kill you." Nobody seemed to hear Cloudstar except Treespirit.

Treespirit and Cloudstar just stood there watching Eaglestar and Twilightstar battle. Eventually, Eaglestar leaped of Twilightstar when he was the one on top. "That was... interesting." Eaglestar said.

"Very interesting. Twilightstar, you seem to have forgotten the Warrior Code." Cloudstar said.

"What? Oh, yeah. I did." Twilightstar said.

"Just because you're leader doesn't mean you can break the warrior code." Eaglestar said.

Twilightstar looked confused. "Who's side are you on?" He asked Cloudstar. Cloudstar laughed. "I'm not on either 'side'. I'm just offering a place for a clearly weaker clan and stating random things that seem important." Cloudstar said.

"Strange leader." Eaglestar said.

"Neither of your clans are enemy clans to me. It's not strange." Cloudstar said.

"Let's get back to why Eaglestar's here." Twilightstar said.

"We didn't mean to drive you out. As I said when we retreated, we merely meant to teach you a lesson." Eaglestar said.

"By destroying our herb supply?" Twilightstar said.

"That must have been one of the other patrols that destroyed the herbs that were growing. It was not my order to destroy your herbs." Eaglestar said.

"It wasn't?" Twilightstar asked.

Eaglestar laughed. "No. Do you think I didn't want you to recover from that battle? I merely wanted to teach you what would happen if you stole herbs again." Eaglestar said.

"But we didn't steal your herbs." Twilightstar said.

"I can tell. You don't look like you're lying." Eaglestar said.

"But who stole your herbs, then?" Twilightstar asked.

"A cat that smells like EarthClan. That would mean that there is a cat living in your territory, though." Eaglestar said.

"But none of our patrols have smelled any cats." Twilightstar said.

"It's not my fault that EarthClan had bad noses." Eaglestar said.

"If it smells like EarthClan, then patrols would have overlooked it." Twilightstar said.

"No. They would have gone hysterical over the smell of their own clan." Eaglestar said sarcastically.

"Have you smelled EarthClan in any places other than your herbs?" Twilightstar asked.

"Several places. I don't react much to other clans crossing the border. Most clans would be disgusted by our idea of a good meal, so they would never steal our prey. They probably just chased their own across the border." Eaglestar said.

"Very ShadowClan-descendant like." Cloudstar said sarcastically.

"That's nice to know. We could be planning an invasion and you wouldn't even notice." Twilightstar said.

"There is a certain point we assume you are crossing the border on purpose." Eaglestar said. "You don't chase prey to the center of another clan's territory without realizing you've crossed the border. And warriors don't make the mistake regularly."

"Several places past that certain point?" Twilightstar said.

"Oh, StarClan." Eaglestar looked very surprised. "Yes. I have. And normally by cat blood."

**Oh noes! Itz a murder mysteries!**

**Not really. This chapter and the next chapter are just a lot of foreshadowing on my part.**


	15. Chapter 15

"What?" Twilightstar yelled more than asked.

Eaglestar didn't respond.

"Eaglestar?" Twilightstar asked.

"Wh-what?" Eaglestar asked.

"What do you mean by cat blood?" Twilightstar asked. Eaglestar collapsed to the ground. Twilightstar sat down in front of him.

"Treespirit, go ask for some chamomile." Twilightstar ordered.

Treespirit came back in a few moments with chamomile. "Eaglestar, eat this." Twilightstar said. Eaglestar just stared at the herb as if it were an object he had never seen.

"Eaglestar! Eat this herb already!" Twilightstar ordered Eaglestar. He ate the herb.

"Okay. Eaglestar, what do you mean by cat blood?" Twilightstar asked.

"Everywhere there is EarthClan scent, there is cat blood. Do you think I don't know what cat blood tastes like?" Eaglestar asked. Twilightstar was happy to realize he still sounded like Eaglestar.

"Of course you know what it tastes like. Eaglestar, do you have any idea what this could mean?" Twilightstar asked. Eaglestar just nodded. He seemed to be staring into nowhere.

"Eaglestar, if you know any more about this than we do, please tell us." Twilightstar said.

"I want to talk about it privately." Eaglestar said.

"Okay. Come to my den with me, then." Twilightstar said. He got up and walked into the den that he had made.

"Okay, what did you want to talk about?" Twilightstar asked.

"I had a dream about it that I didn't want anybody to hear." Eaglestar said.

"Okay. That's nice." Twilightstar said.

"That's all you want to know about it?" Eaglestar said.

"No. What happened in the dream?" Twilightstar asked.

"Cat were dying in it." Eaglestar said.

"How did they die?" Twilightstar asked.

"They just fell, and blood poured out of them. They called for help, but I could never get to them in time." Eaglestar said.

"When did you have this dream?" Twilightstar asked.

"At my leader ceremony. But that was so long ago... what could it have to do with anything right now?" Eaglestar asked.

"I had the same dream." Twilightstar said.

"You did?" Eaglestar asked.

"Yes." Twilightstar said.

"That's strange... we aren't from the same clan." Eaglestar said.

Actually, you're half-clan. Twilightstar thought. "Are you sure about that?" Twilightstar asked.

"Yes." Eaglestar said.

"Actually, we are." Twilightstar said.

"You have to be kidding." Eaglestar said.

"Nope." Twilightstar said.

Eaglestar seemed to be thinking about what Twilightstar had just said. "Doe that mean that I'm-" Twilightstar cut him off.

"Yes." Twilightstar said.

"But.. I-" Twilightstar cut him off again.

"Deal with it, Eaglethicket." Twilightstar said.

"How do you- that's such a mouse-brained name." Eaglestar said.

"It's not that bad. Not compared to mine." Twilightstar said.

"It's better than mine. Don't tell me Twilighthope is a worse name than Eaglethicket." Eaglestar said.

"How I got it is mouse-brained. At least you didn't have such a mouse-brained leader. Starstar should have changed her name. At least your leader had a better name." Twilightstar said.

"Let's get back to talking about that dream." Eaglestar said.

"It's very confusing. Do you remember them saying anything besides help?" Twilightstar asked.

"We are still leaders of two different clans. Let's not get too comfortable here. Yes, I do. They always said, 'Eaglestar, this is your fault. You could have saved them. You could have saved them, Eaglestar.' before they died. Then, when the dream was almost over, a wave of blood washed over me, and a voice said 'You will experience what they have, Eaglestar. You could have saved them but you didn't. You will die the same way they did, in a river of unstoppable blood." Eaglestar said.

"That is the exact same way I remember it, except they didn't call me Eaglestar. Obviously, they called me Twilightstar." Twilightstar said.

"That's strange. Do you think the other leaders had the same dream?" Eaglestar asked.

"Maybe. Do you you have any idea what it means?" Twilightstar asked.

"No. It might have something to do with that blood on my territory. I hope I'm not missing anything." Eaglestar said.

"What did you tell your clan to do when you attacked?" Twilightstar asked before he could stop himself.

"I told them to merely give you a few scratches. Enough to teach you a lesson, but definitely not enough to make you leave. I actually told them NOT to destroy your herbs, as many of them wanted to. Just tells you how respected I am in my clan." Eaglestar said.

"They didn't listen to you? Odd, because you can be a very good leader. My clan respects me, and most of the older warriors know I never had an apprentice until I decided to be Treespirit's mentor." Twilightstar said.

"I don't know what I did. They just don't do what I tell them to. Most of them thought I wasn't being loyal by coming to get your clan." Eaglestar said.

"That's strange. Though you weren't really attacking me." Twilightstar said.

"I was following my own orders. My orders were 'Do NOT harm there medicine cats or herbs. Only hurt them enough to teach them a lesson' I don't know why they couldn't follow that." Eaglestar said.

"Maybe you should come to EarthClan." Twilightstar said.

"I don't want Lionclaw to become leader. He is very much an evil cat, He was the only cat who had had an apprentice at the time, so I had to make him deputy." Eaglestar said.

"'An honorable warrior does not need to kill other cats to win his battles, unless they are outside the warrior code or it is necessary for self-defence.' This is kind of like a battle, so remember that part of the warrior code." Twilightstar said.

"Apparently you have trouble remembering that." Eaglestar said.

"We both have trouble remembering that we're not supposed to talk about our leader ceremonies." Twilightstar said.

"We weren't talking about the ceremony part, so I'm not sure we were doing anything. Treespirit is a strange cat." Eaglestar said.

"He isn't strange. Do you want to be in EarthClan?" Twilightstar asked.

"Yes, but I want Lionclaw to die first. Or something. Because he would want to drive you out. Also, there is a cat that I want to make deputy." Eaglestar said.

"How old is Lionclaw, anyway?" Twilightstar asked.

"Old enough to die from leaf-bare." Eaglestar said.

"That doesn't help. Kits are old enough to die from leaf-bare." Twilightstar said.

"Okay, elder-age, then. He's older than me." Eaglestar said.

"How did the other clans react to us being gone?" Twilightstar asked.

"CloudClan got mad at me, and RainClan didn't respond." Eaglestar said.

"Great. Just what I thought. The other clans wouldn't miss us. They would just get mad at you for driving out a clan." Twilightstar said.

"It was my warriors who drove you out, not me. Do you want to go back?" Eaglestar asked.

"Back to those fox-hearts? No, my clan is happy here." Twilightstar said.

"Okay. Always put your clan first, Twilightstar." Eaglestar said.

"I do put my clan first." Twilightstar said.

"We are not enemy clans as long as you stay here. If you come back, our clans are enemies again. Remember that if you decide to come back." Eaglestar said as he stood up.

"Okay." Twilightstar said.

"One more thing. If Lionclaw dies, or should I say when Lionclaw dies, I will find some way to tell you that." Eaglestar said.

"Okay." Twilightstar said. Eaglestar left the den. How would Eaglestar tell him if Lionclaw died?

**No, Eaglestar and Twilightstar did not just get incredibly OOC. Eaglestar is related to Twilightstar. They have similar genes. (Did that disturb you? Sorry.) Also, Eaglestar is disrespected in his own clan because he refuses to go into battle, a charecteristic much unlike any cat in NightClan. He didn't actually think that EarthClan has stolen the herbs. I haven't revealed the entire story of what happened yet. But I will tell you that at first Eaglestar was playing along with the idea that he had ordered the patrol to attack the herbs. And his orders were what he said they were. The other cats in his clan ditroyed the herbs. Eaglestar does not like attacking other clans. He actually isn't very good at battling. So yeah. **

**If you have any questions or would like to flame me or whatevers, go ahead. It's teh internet, I won't care if you flame me. I don't have feelings. Not.**

**Please DON'T flame. Try to make your critcism constructive. If you have any questions, ask them. I may or may not answer them, it depend on how revealing it is to the plot.**

**So There!**

**-Ifsmith out.**


	16. Chapter 16

Echobreeze was watching Treespirit help Thunderkit get stronger. Thunderkit hadn't gotten any stronger, as far as Echobreeze could tell, but it was amusing to watch Thunderkit fail at everything Treespirit made him do. She walked over to them.

"Thunderkit is almost a moon old." She told Treespirit.

"I know. What's that got to do with anything?" Treespirit asked.

"Nothing. I'm just reminding you. You seem to have forgotten that he's still a kit. Apprentices sometimes have difficulty doing what you're making Thunderkit do." Echobreeze said.

"He'll get stronger by doing this." Treespirit said.

"Yes, but can't you see that right now it is too hard for him to do?" Echobreeze asked.

"Is it too hard, Thunderkit?" Treespirit asked.

Thunderkit didn't answer. He just looked at Treespirit. "No." He said finally.

"See? He doesn't think it's too hard!" Treespirit said.

"Ask him again." Echobreeze said. She thought that Thunderkit was just scared.

"Is it too hard, Thunderkit? Because if it is I can make it less difficult. It's supposed to be somewhat challenging, but not too much." Treespirit asked. Thunderkit nodded very slowly.

"You don't have to be scared to tell me if something is too hard." Treespirit said.

"I wasn't. I just didn't know it was harder than you had meant it to be." Thunderkit said.

Echobreeze could see Ivymist walking up to them. "Can I talk to you, Echobreeze?" She asked.

"Um... Sure?" Echobreeze said, more like a question.

"Then come with me." Ivymist said. She immediately turned around and started walking towards a bush. Echobreeze ran to catch up. They got to the bush very quickly because Ivymist was walking very fast.

"Why did you bring me here?" Echobreeze asked.

"StarClan." Ivymist said.

"You don't-" Echobreeze began.

"I know. But is that right? Mothwing couldn't have dreams from StarClan, I can. I openly admitted to not believing in them, Mothwing didn't. I guess I'm just slightly confused." Ivymist said.

"You don't have dreams from StarClan, you have dreams about them. If you truly didn't believe in StarClan, you would say 'about' instead of 'from' when talking about them. However, I can't read your mind, so I have no idea how strong your belief in StarClan isn't." Echobreeze said.

"That didn't help much. I just don't know if I hate StarClan so much I can't get dreams from StarClan or if I truly don't believe in them" Ivymist said.

"Why would you hate StarClan?" Echobreeze asked.

"Because if they exist they let Moonface die!" Ivymist yelled.

"Okay, is a perfect example of not being able to move on from a cat's death. Moonface has been dead for moons." Echobreeze said.

"Moonface was very important to my life. Don't tell me I can't miss him. He was the best cat ever!" Ivymist said. (oh the wrongness that brought to my mind.)

"Okay, back up. How in StarClan can Moonface be the best cat ever? As far as Treespirit's concerned, Twilightstar is the best cat ever. Have you seriously not forgiven Twilightstar yet?" Echobreeze asked.

"I forgave Twilightstar a long time ago. Brightleaf is an easy cat to miss." Ivymist said.

"Then why do you still miss Moonface?" Echobreeze asked.

"Moonface was like Treefrost. He cared more about me than is general duty as medicine cat. He managed to keep cats trusting his loyalty. Who wouldn't miss a cat like that?" Ivymist asked.

"A cat like me who never saw his face." Echobreeze said.

"You aren't really helping." Ivymist said.

"Try to get a dream from StarClan. Ask them if they exist. When they say yes, which they will, you just hate them. You hate StarClan so much that they can't speak to you in dreams. It's as obvious as water, Ivymist. You do believe in StarClan." Echobreeze said.

"How do you know?" Ivymist asked.

"Do you want to believe in StarClan?" Echobreeze said.

"No. I don't want to believe in those fox-hearts." Ivymist said.

"How do you pretend you believe in StarClan when you go to the Moon-pond when you don't?" Echobreeze asked.

"Because the other medicine cat don't know I don't. Also, I only go to the Moon-pond when I have to. I hate that place as much as I hate StarClan. That is, if they exist." Ivymist said.

"How do you hate that place?" Echobreeze asked.

"I hate it because it forces me to believe in StarClan. I don't believe or want to believe in StarClan." Ivymist said.

"Ivymist, I'm afraid this is all very obvious. You are going to ask me if StarClan is real, and I'm going to say yes. All I'm going to say is, whatever you're planning, StarClan will mind." Echobreeze said.

"How do you know I'm planning anything?" Ivymist asked.

"You just confirmed it. Seriously, Ivymist, I thought you were smarter than this." Echobreeze said.

"But you'll never find out what it is!" Ivymist said.

"Seriously Ivymist. Do you think I want to know what it is?" Echobreeze asked.

"Yes, actually." Ivymist said.

"I don't want to know anything you aren't willing to tell me." Echobreeze said.

Ivymist looked at Echobreeze.

"You know, your back legs are beginning to be outgrown by your front ones." Ivymist said.

"I didn't notice." Echobreeze said, realizing she was right: her front legs were longer than her back ones.

"At least Moonface was done growing when he broke his spine. Come on, I know how to fix this." Ivymist said, walking out from behind the bush.

They got to the medicine cat den very quickly. "Stay here." Ivymist said as she walked into the herb stores. She came out with some rocks and a vine.

"They will make your legs the same length." Ivymist said, attaching the rocks to her back paws. "Stand up." Ivymist said. Echobreeze stood up easily.

"Okay." Ivymist said.

"Okay... what?" Echobreeze asked.

Ivymist started coughing. "Are you okay?" Echobreeze asked.

"Yes." Ivymist said.

"Okay." Echobreeze said.

"Do you think there should only be one medicine cat when I die?" Ivymist asked.

"Your aren't dying soon, but sure." Echobreeze said.

"Okay. When I do die, Endlessheart will be the medicine cat." Ivymist said.

"That seemed pretty given, but okay." Echobreeze said.

Ivymist coughed again.

"What?" Ivymist asked when Echobreeze looked at her.

"Nothing." Echobreeze said.

"Then stop looking at me like I turned into a fox." Ivymist said.

"How do you know you didn't?" Echobreeze asked playfully.

"Because if I had turned into a fox, which is impossible, you would have immediately jumped on me and most likely killed me as I would not have realized I was a fox yet." Ivymist said.

"Okay." Echobreeze said.

"Why were you looking at me like that, anyway?" Ivymist asked.

"Why do you think?" Echobreeze asked.

"I don't have a clue." Ivymist said.

"Cats don't cough unless they're sick or choking on something, which you don't appear to be." Echobreeze said.

"Am I sick? I don't look very sick, do I?" Ivymist asked.

"I don't know if you are, but you do look sick." Echobreeze said.

"I'm not. I'm perfectly-" Ivymist was cut off by coughing, "Fine." She said as though nothing had happened.

"Leaders and medicine cats." Echobreeze said, sighing.

"What?" Ivymist asked.

"'Cats who claim they aren't sick aren't supported by the fact that they are coughing.' Do you not remember saying that?" Echobreeze asked.

"I do remember saying that when I told you... apprentices about catmint. You know what? Fine, I am sick. But do you really think I can't help myself? I've been learning about medicine cat stuff since I was a kit. Does that matter, though? I would have learned it anyway." Ivymist said.

"Since you were a kit?" Echobreeze asked.

"Moonface could teach me about herbs when I was still a kit, couldn't he? It doesn't require being six moons old to learn and understand, you know." Ivymist said.

"Yes, but weren't you supposed to be playing?" Echobreeze asked.

"I was the only kit at that time. I didn't want to play, anyway, so it wouldn't have mattered, would it?" Ivymist said.

"Did you do anything worth mentioning when you were a kit?" Echobreeze asked.

"I saved Moonface from Greencough, if that counts." Ivymist said.

"Have you ever considered being a warrior?" Echobreeze asked.

"I hate hurting other cats, I'm completely hopeless at hunting, and I find it difficult to watch battles. Is that enough for you?" Ivymist asked.

"Then why did you kill Thunderleap and make Twilightstar loose one of his lives?" Echobreeze asked.

"Did you watch me after Thunderleap died? Did you hear what I said afterwards? I still feel terrible about that. And Twilightstar asked for it, and he's still alive. I was mad at Thunderleap." Ivymist said.

"Do you think that StarClan would care about either of those?" Echobreeze asked.

"If I believed in them, I would have given up being medicine cat by now. So no, I don't." Ivymist said.

"Why don't you teach the other apprentices any battle moves?" Echobreeze asked.

"Because I don't know any. Moonface didn't teach me any. I hate doing the moves, even if it's not on another cat, because of what some of the moves could do to another cat. You're just proof of what cats can do to each other if they wanted to. Do I want to be capable of doing that much potential damage to a cat? No, because I would probably accidentally use them on some cat. If I were a warrior, I would probably be considered evil because I get angry or upset about things very easily. That calmed down in time, but if I were a warrior it would have gotten stronger." Ivymist said.

"Then how did you kill Thunderleap so easily? He could have easily beaten you, had he wanted to." Echobreeze said.

"Because when I am mad about something, I am pretty difficult to beat, with or without any battle training." Ivymist said.

"Why did you become a medicine cat?" Echobreeze asked.

"I told Moonface I wanted to be a medicine cat so I could help cats instead of hurting them, but he told me to be an apprentice for a moon. I hated it, and somehow I managed to wiggle my way out of any battle training, except for the sand move, which is very useful. Not. I hated that move so much because I was bad at it, and my mentor, who I don't even bother remembering the name of, wouldn't let me see the end of it. I hated everything about that move. It gives you an unfair advantage in sandy areas because you can blind your opponents. Then, finally, after the worst moon of my life, Moonface let me become a medicine cat apprentice. I must say after that, being a medicine cat apprentice seemed pretty awesome. I wouldn't let Moonface teach me any other battle moves. I don't like battling or battle moves." Ivymist said.

"I don't understand how you found out you hated hurting other cats, even if it was fake and they would suffer no injuries from it." Echobreeze said.

"You've been told that you are supposed to do your best to attack your opponent, right? Well, it seemed pretty cruel to me that big, strong warriors could end up battling small, not necessarily strong apprentices. It also seems pretty cruel to me that cats consider that defending their clan. All they're doing is hurting another clan. Also, how do cats stand putting other cats in pain if they know what it feels like? Also, when a cat dies in battle, the cat who killed them never stop to think about the cat's family. I found out I don't like hurting other cats when I was forced to battle a cat. I ended up killing them, and I didn't like that. Also, if I think about it hard enough, I can imagine the pain that the cat is in. Would I like being in that pain? No, so why am I putting another cat in pain? I also had to use the sand move on my mentor. I didn't end up doing anything except brushing a small pile of sand onto their paws because I didn't want to hurt them. StarClan is partly the culprit for this, because they have and are willing to send omens for a clan to attack another clan, just another reason for me to hate them if I believed in them, which I don't. Battling just seems like a cruel process to me. Cats hurt other cats to teach them a lesson, why don't they just use words instead?" Ivymist said.

"But they are defending their clan. They are defending the clan from another clan who is attacking them." Echobreeze said.

"No, they're not! They are purposefully harming another clan! How can you be okay with that? How, Echobreeze? I thought you were better than that!" Ivymist yelled. Echobreeze could tell that she was also slightly hurt.

"It's what the clans have done for generations upon generations. Also, what about the Great Battle? Were cats not allowed to hurt other cats then, either?" Echobreeze asked calmly.

"That was different! Look around you, Echobreeze, why are we in this camp? Because of another clan who decided to harm ours. How do you not understand? Battling is mouse-brained." Ivymist said quietly. Now the only thing in her voice was pure hurt. Ivymist looked down at the ground. "I didn't realize I was the only cat who didn't like battles." Ivymist said so quietly Echobreeze could barely hear her.

Echobreeze walked over to where Ivymist was standing. "Do you want to lay down?" Echobreeze asked. She licked Ivymist's ear.

Ivymist nodded so subtly that Echobreeze could hardly tell it had moved. "You're the only cat who dislikes battles as much as you do." Echobreeze said as she led Ivymist to her nest.

"I don't like battles either." She said when Ivymist had laid down in the nest.

"Clearly not as strongly as I do, though. Instead of going into the battle like you did, I hid in the medicine cat den. I could hear the herbs being ripped up, but I didn't want to hurt the cat." Ivymist said. Her voice was still quiet, but it was confident.

"I will do anything to help my clan, Ivymist. I don't let my personal likes or dislikes get in the way of helping them. Maybe your dislike for battling is too strong, but in the next battle, can you try to battle?" Echobreeze asked.

"I'll try." Ivymist said, still quiet but confident.

"Okay." Echobreeze said.

Echobreeze just sat next to Ivymist for a while, thinking about the conversation she had had with Ivymist. Ivymist wasn't asleep, but Echobreeze could tell she was very relaxed right now. She looked at Ivymist. She appeared to be staring at the entrance to the medicine cat den. Echobreeze couldn't see anything important there, but she didn't ask Ivymist about it, because she appeared to be very deep in thought. Echobreeze didn't know what she could be thinking about so intently, so she just stared at Ivymist's face. Whatever she was thinking about, she appeared to be very happy about it.

"Echobreeze?" Ivymist asked.

"What?" Echobreeze said back.

"Do you mind if I go ask Twilightstar something?" Ivymist asked.

"No." Echobreeze said.

"Okay." Ivymist said. Echobreeze could hear her getting up. Echobreeze watched her walk out of the den, wondering what she could possibly want to ask Twilightstar. Echobreeze got up too, she decided to go see what Treespirit and Thunderkit were doing. She sat down in front of the medicine cat den to watch Treespirit an Thunderkit. Thunderkit appeared to be having a lot of fun. Echobreeze was happy to notice that Treespirit also appeared to be having fun.

Suddenly, Thunderkit stopped playing. Treespirit stood next to him. Echobreeze saw him ask Thunderkit something. Echobreeze ran over there to see what was going on. "Is Thunderkit okay?" She asked when she got over to them.

"I don't think he is." Treespirit said.

"I think I'm going to vomit." Thunderkit said. Echobreeze picked him up, and motioned with her tail for Treespirit to follow.

Echobreeze carried Thunderkit to a place behind a bush that most cats didn't know about. "Here, now you don't have to do it where everyone can see you." Echobreeze said. Thunderkit vomited, just as he had predicted. "I want Morningflight." He said when he was done.

"First I'm taking you to the lake so you can rinse that taste out of your mouth." Echobreeze said, picking up the kit and carrying him straight out of the camp to the lake.

Echobreeze set down Thunderkit when they got to the lake. "Don't drink too much." She told Thunderkit as he padded down to the lake to drink it. Thunderkit slipped on a rock and fell. Echobreeze tried to grab him, but he fell into the lake. Echobreeze ran after him. Why did I take him to the deep part of the lake? Echobreeze asked herself silently as she ran to get him. She got him easily, then carried him out of the water. He vomited up the lake water, then lapped up a few drops of the lake. Echobreeze picked him up and carried him back to EarthClan's mini-camp inside of ThunderClan's.

Morningflight was already inside the medicine cat den. Echobreeze set down Thunderkit in a nest, then walked into the herb stores. She got some watermint, then walked out of the herb stores.

"Eat this." She told Thunderkit as she set down the watermint in front of him. He ate the herb.

"Is Thunderkit okay?" Morningflight asked.

"Yes, he just needs rest." Echobreeze said.

"Okay. Do you think that Treespirit should be his mentor? Twilightstar asked me, and I said I didn't know yet." Morningflight said.

"Yes. Have you seen how much fun Thunderkit has with Treespirit? It's obvious to me; and he is deputy, so naturally he would get a lot of apprentices." Echobreeze said.

"What did Ivymist go to ask Twilightstar?" Morningflight asked.

"I don't know. Before she left, she was asking me about StarClan. Then I got into a conversation with her about battles. Then I said something that made her upset, but I asked her if she wanted to lay down, and she said yes. She appeared to be thinking about something that was making her happy, but that's all I know." Echobreeze said.

"Why were you talking about battling?" Morningflight asked.

"I asked her why she was a medicine cat, then we got into a conversation about battles. I don't think she'd want me to tell you why she was a medicine cat, and telling you why we were talking about battles would require explaining that." Echobreeze said.

"Ivymist is very strange when it comes to whether or not she believes in StarClan." Morningflight said.

"Yes, she is. She said that she doesn't know if she doesn't believe in StarClan or just hates them so much it seems like she doesn't. It confuses me, but I think it's really just a problem of her not being able to move on from Moonface's death." Echobreeze said.

"How do you not know if you hate StarClan or don't believe in them?" Morningflight asked.

"When you have dreams about them that seem like that; just dreams." Ivymist appeared at the entrance to the den.

"It still doesn't make sense." Morningflight said.

"There is one other reason I might hate StarClan; that is, if they exist, which I find unlikely." Ivymist said.

"What is it?" Echobreeze asked.

"I don't like helping queens when they're kitting, because I'm scared the same thing will happen to them as what happened to Brightleaf." Ivymist said.

"Notice how a queen hasn't died kitting in seasons." Morningflight said.

"That doesn't mean one won't now." Ivymist said.

"Ivymist, seriously. This is getting insane. You need to move on from Brightleaf and Moonface's death." Echobreeze said.

Ivymist's eyes flashed with anger. "Twilightstar said I didn't need to move on from Moonface's death, and I moved on from Brightleaf's when I was a kit!" Ivymist yelled. Echobreeze looked at her claws: they were unsheathed.

"That's because you didn't know anything about who your parents were until you were four moons old." Morningflight said.

"Moonface was a good substitute for Twilightstar!" Ivymist yelled.

Morningflight sighed. "Do I count for nothing?" She asked. "I didn't even know who you were!" Ivymist yelled.

"Back up. Morningflight, you replaced Brightleaf?" Echobreeze asked.

"Yes. I was friends with Brightleaf... though I never did anything much of anything for Ivymist. She never thought of me as her mom, and I'm glad, because Moonface was much better than me or Twilightstar would've been." Morningflight said.

"I'm glad too. I thought I was a loner kit until I found out who my parents were." Ivymist said.

"That one of them was dead and the other was ignoring you? Yeah, I'd be surprised." Echobreeze said.

"Well, you guys were lucky, actually. Treefrost wiggled his way out of almost every respectable position in the clan... He even lost some of his somewhat-senior-warrior status. He was still respected, surprisingly, because he played with you guys a lot. He was like and opposite of Twilightstar. Mostly it's the queens who play with kits, but Treefrost actually played with you more than Morningflight." Ivymist said.

"I was perfectly fine with that." Morningflight said.

"Luckily." Ivymist said.

"Ivymist, you are very confusing. Can I take Thunderkit to the nursery?" Morningflight asked.

"As long as he gets rest, yes." Ivymist answered.

Once Morningflight and Thunderkit had left, Ivymist turned to look Echobreeze. "How am I supposed to battle if I have no official battle training?" She asked.

"You're a medicine cat. You don't need to battle." Echobreeze said.

"But you said I should." Ivymist said.

"I didn't say you should, I gave you the option to try. You said you'd try, but if you don't, I'll be perfectly fine with it." Echobreeze said.

"Can you tell me why battling is a good thing? I don't think it is at all." Ivymist said.

"Endlessheart was pinned down by another cat. Would you just stand there and let the cat hurt him?" Echobreeze asked.

"No, but I would just knock them off. I wouldn't do anything else, really." Ivymist said.

"If you just knock them off they would just get back on." Echobreeze said.

"They would?" Ivymist asked.

"You don't even know the very basics of battling, do you?" Echobreeze asked.

"As far as I'm concerned battling is just hurting another cat. Moonface tried to convince me that battling gave medicine cats most of their position in the clan, but it doesn't. Most of the things I treat are causes that aren't related to battling." Ivymist said.

"Moonface was probably trying to convince you battling wasn't an act of pure evil." Echobreeze said.

"Was that NightClan battle not enough proof for you? Battling is evil, no matter how much you want to deny it." Ivymist said.

"I overheard part of Eaglestar and Twilightstar's conversation. I think Eaglestar was just going along with what his clan wanted. He made it clear to Twilightstar that his orders were specifically not to destroy the herbs." Echobreeze said.

"That's rare." Ivymist said.

"What?" Echobreeze asked.

"A leader who isn't respected in their own clan. From a NightClan perspective, Eaglestar is different than most leaders." Ivymist said.

"It is strange." Echobreeze said.

"Will all cats above the age of 3 moond gather by the Rock Pile for a clan meeting!" Echobreeze heard Twilightstar yowl.

"We should go." Ivymist said.

Echobreeze nodded and ran out of the den. I miss the old camp. This one isn't that bad, but I liked the Moonlit-Stone better. Echobreeze said.

"As you should know, Eaglestar came here earlier today. Most of what he told me is private for right now, but I think that you should know that he didn't decide to destroy our herbs. It was the rest of NightClan. He told his cats NOT to destroy our herbs and stuff, but they did anyway." Twilightstar said, leaping off of the Rock Pile. It wasn't as dramatic as it was from the Moonlit-Stone, but it meant the same thing.

"Follow me." Ivymist said, walking towards the entrance to the camp. Echobreeze ran after her. Why was Ivymist walking so fast? She hardly noticed as they passed through ThunderClan's part of the camp. Echobreeze realized that Ivymist was leading her to the lake.

"Why are we going to the lake?" Echobreeze asked.

Ivymist didn't answer, which annoyed Echobreeze, but she didn't ask again, as she was out of breath from running after Ivymist.

Ivymist stopped suddenly and Echobreeze ran into her. When she stood up she realized they were by the lake. How did Ivymist walk so fast?

"Show me a battle move." Ivymist said.

"Why? I thought you even hated the moves themselves!" Echobreeze yelled.

"I'll get myself killed if I don't know any. In case you hadn't noticed, the sand move is pretty useless in this territory." Ivymist said. This isn't like Ivymist at all! Echobreeze thought.

"You probably won't get into any battles." Echobreeze said.

"You're not making this any easier. I'm trying to do what you said, which is to battle in the next battle, but how am I supposed to that if I don't know any useful moves?" Ivymist asked.

"Fine, I'll show you the front paw blow. However, I'm just telling you, if this moved is used the right way it could knock out a cat." Echobreeze said. She demonstrated the move as if she were attacking an opponent, bring her paw down hard on the imaginary opponent's head.

Echobreeze nodded at Ivymist to try the move. She tried the move, but it looked like she was holding back, as if imagining what she was doing to her imaginary opponent.

"Like that?" She asked.

"Yes, but this is a fairly basic move. It probably won't do much to the opponent unless you did it really hard. Try it again." Echobreeze said.

Ivymist did the move again, but it still looked like she was holding back. "Use it on me." Echobreeze said.

"What if I hurt you?" Ivymist asked.

"You won't. It's really hard to actually do anything very dangerous with this move. It's not like I'm teaching you the Killing Bite or anything along the same lines." Echobreeze said.

Ivymist used the move on Echobreeze. Echobreeze could see that she slowed down when she was about to hit her, so it didn't hurt.

"Don't hold back, Ivymist. Your claws are sheathed, and, like I said, this is a basic move." Echobreeze said.

"But I don't want to hurt you." Ivymist said.

"You won't hurt me. If you do it hard enough, it will hurt, but nothing even somewhat permanent will happen. If it does hurt, the pain will be gone in moments, but it might take longer if you're facing a stronger opponent. I don't think you would ever beat me in a fight. Yet, anyway." Echobreeze said.

Ivymist used the move on Echobreeze again, but she stopped before it even hit her head.

"Do you want me to show you what it feels like, so you would know exactly what you're doing to me?" Echobreeze asked.

Ivymist just looked really scared. "What?" Echobreeze asked.

"There's a fox behind you." Ivymist said weakly.

Echobreeze turned around, and sure enough, there was a fox behind her. She ran under the fox and nipped all of its legs, then leaped onto it's back and bit its neck. The fox fell, and Echobreeze was happy to realize it was dead. She leaped off it and walked over to Ivymist. Ivymist still looked scared.

"It's dead now, Ivymist. It won't hurt you." Echobreeze said. Ivymist was just staring blankly at the fox.

"Look at it, Echobreeze. You killed a mother fox." Ivymist seemed to be very surprised by this.

"Then there would be more foxes for us to deal with. Foxes are dangerous, Ivymist." Echobreeze said.

"I know, but what if that had been a cat and you had done that in battle?" Ivymist asked.

"It's dishonorable to use the Killing Bite in battle. I wouldn't run into this situation, Ivymist." Echobreeze said.

"You could still kill a cat. How do warriors survive knowing they've killed a cat?" Ivymist asked. She was still staring blankly at the fox.

"They move on." Echobreeze said. Without warning Ivymist, she used the front paw blow on her as strongly as she could.

"What was that for?" Ivymist asked.

"In battle you don't know what move your opponent is going to use next." Echobreeze said. "Use the move on me." Echobreeze added.

Ivymist used the move on her, but it still looked like she was holding back. How do I get her to stop holding back? Echobreeze asked.

"Do it again." Echobreeze said.

"I don't want to." Ivymist said.

"Do you think your opponent would care?" Echobreeze asked.

"No." Ivymist said.

"Then use the move on me." Echobreeze said.

Ivymist used the move on Echobreeze again, but, even though it hurt a little bit, she could tell Ivymist was still holding back.

Ivymist sat down. "What?" Echobreeze asked.

"It's just..." Ivymist appeared to be deciding whether or not to continue. "...Really difficult to do when you can't stop thinking about what you could be doing to a cat." Ivymist finished.

Echobreeze was trying to figure out what to say to Ivymist.

"I know that this is difficult for you, Ivymist. Like I said, if you don't want to do this, you don't have to. I definitely don't want to recreate when you were a warrior apprentice." Echobreeze said.

"I don't want to, but... I feel like I have to." Ivymist said.

"But you don't have to." Echobreeze said.

Ivymist just stared at Echobreeze for a while.

"Ivymist, some cats aren't meant to be warriors. You might be one of them." Echobreeze said.

"No. That wasn't obvious. I know what you mean, though. I don't think I can explain it, but I feel like I have to." Ivymist said.

"Just try to explain it, then." Echobreeze said.

"Moonface always tried to get me to like battling. I feel like I should do this for Moonface. Please try to understand." Ivymist said.

"I do understand. Not from your perspective, but I understand wanting do something for someone who is dead. Especially someone like Moonface." Echobreeze said.

"Thanks. Can I try that move again?" Ivymist asked.

"Sure." Echobreeze said. Ivymist stood up, and immediately used that move on Echobreeze. When Echobreeze looked at Ivymist again, she was looking at her paws.

Ivymist looked up. "Echobreeze, do you remember when I said I can be dangerous when I'm angry about something?" Ivymist asked.

"Yes." Echobreeze said.

"I killed Thunderleap without any battle training. What will happen when I do?" Ivymist asked.

**5,157 words without this note. That is the longest chapter in this series so far. I'm trying to make the chapters as long as possible, so if I don't update everyday like I have been, that's why. Also, I thought I might mention that Ivymist didn't get OOC at all about the battles. She is trying really hard, but still...**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! **

**-Ifsmith**


	17. Chapter 17

Endlessheart was waiting at the entrance to the ThunderClan camp with the EarthClan medicine cats. It was the first time that they were allowed to go to Moon-Pool with the ThunderClan medicine cat. Ivymist was tearing up the ground in front of her. Endlessheart didn't say anything about it, but he was wondering why she was doing it.

Finally, Seedheart padded up to them. "You better keep your apprentices in line. I know Cloudstar is fine with it, but I don't approve of having more than one apprentice." Seedheart said as she walked straight passed them and started walking towards what Endlessheart had been told was WindClan territory.

When they got a certain point into WindClan territory, Seedheart stopped. "We have to wait for WindClan's medicine cat." Seedheart said.

They weren't waiting for very long when a cat padded up to them. "Hello, Cloudleaf." Seedheart said. "Hello. Are these the EarthClan cats?" Cloudleaf asked.

"Yes. Cloudstar made me bring them." Seedheart said. Seedheart and Cloudleaf started walking and the EarthClan cats followed them.

They stopped. "Now we have to wait for RiverClan and ShadowClan's medicine cats, Fishfin and Nightleaf." Seedheart explained to the EarthClan medicine cats.

In moments, Fishfin and Nightleaf walked up to them Fishfin nodded his greeting to the other medicine cats. "Hello." Nightleaf said.

"Fishfin, how will you ever train an apprentice?" Seedheart asked.

Fishfin shrugged. I guess he can't talk. Endlessheart thought.

"You're going to need to get one soon." Seedheart said.

Endlessheart decided to ask Fishfin if he could talk. As they were walking to the Moon-Pool, Endlessheart slipped over to him.

"Can you talk?" He asked, quiet enough that the other cat wouldn't hear him, but loud enough that Fishfin could hear him. Fishfin shook his head. "Why not?" He asked, his voice at the same level it was before. Fishfin gave him a look that Endlessheart decided meant, I'll tell you.

Endlessheart was in StarClan, but it was different than he was used to. He could hear a cat walking up to him. The cat walked into the clearing he was in, and he realized it was Fishfin. "My tongue got crushed under a rock when I was a kit. My littermates wanted to see what would happen if a rock fell on a cat's tongue. We weren't the brightest kits." Fishfin said.

"Did it hurt?" Endlessheart asked.

"No. Of course it hurt, mouse-brain." Fishfin said.

"Is Seedheart always this annoying?" Endlessheart asked.

"Yes. He is still annoyed with me for getting my tongue crushed, and he decides to take it out on me by telling me that I can't train an apprentice. I can, just, obviously, I can't ask any kits if they want to be my apprentice. StarClan keeps telling me that my apprentice will be a cat that can read minds. I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean." Fishfin said.

"What happened after the rock crushed your tongue?" Endlessheart asked.

"I had to pull up against it, and my tongue got pretty beat up and crushed. Part of it was still stuck under the rock, and part of it was bleeding really badly. Another part of it fell off later because it was numb." Fishfin said.

"How do you eat?" Endlessheart asked.

"I have to crush up the fresh-kill then slowly paw it into my mouth and let it trickle down my throat. I have to do it next to water, so the water can wash it down." Fishfin said.

"Is Ivymist here?" Endlessheart asked.

"What do you mean? She's not dead." Fishfin said.

"She doesn't believe in StarClan." Endlessheart said.

"Why?" Fishfin asked.

"Moonface, her uncle and the medicine cat before her." Endlessheart said.

"What does Moonface have to do with this?" Fishfin asked.

"She doesn't believe that StarClan would let Moonface die." Endlessheart said.

"We should find her, then." Fishfin said.

He ran off, and Endlessheart ran to catch up he stopped. "She's right there." Fishfin said.

"Ivymist?" Endlessheart asked as he walked towards Ivymist. He could hear Fishfin following him.

"What?" Ivymist asked she appeared to be intent on catching a butterfly that was on a flower in front of her.

"I want to show you something." Fishfin said.

"What's going on? Cats who can't who are injured aren't normally not injured in my dreams." Ivymist asked.

"In StarClan, cats aren't normally injured. Anyway, follow me." Fishfin said, running off again. Endlessheart ran after him, and he could hear Ivymist following her. Fishfin stopped, and Ivymist and Endlessheart stopped, too.

"Look." Fishfin instructed.

Ivymist looked into a puddle in front of Fishfin.

"What is that?" Endlessheart asked.

"To you and me, it's just a puddle. It could be anything to Ivymist." Fishfin said.

Endlessheart noticed that Ivymist was clawing at the ground in front of her, then suddenly, she looked up.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked.

"We don't know, we didn't see it." Fishfin said.

Ivymist looked confused. "But.. There were cats everywhere, clawing at whatever they could reach." Ivymist said.

Suddenly, Endlessheart was whisked into a black abyss. He could hear cats screeching. There not screeching... there chanting something. Endlessheart realized. What were they chanting? Endlessheart strained to listen.**_ Blood will flow before peace is restored. That peace lies in your paws. Do not let the river of blood wash over them._** A chill ran down Endlessheart's spine. What could that mean?

**What does that mean? Is it related to Eaglestar and Twilightstar's dream? What could it mean if it is? If it isn't?**

**So yeah. This chapter is short.**


	18. Chapter 18

Two days had passed since Thunderkit had gotten sick. He still was sick, and he was worse than he was before. Treespirit could hear him moaning even though he wasn't anywhere near the medicine cat den.

Treespirit got up and walked over to the medicine cat den. When he got into the medicine cat den, Echobreeze was in there too.

"What are you doing?" Treespirit asked.

"Thinking." Echobreeze said.

"About what?" Treespirit asked.

"Ivymist." Echobreeze said.

"Why?" Treespirit asked.

"Why do you care so much about what I'm doing?" Echobreeze asked dryly.

Treespirit didn't respond. He was her brother! Was he not supposed to care about her? Treespirit padded over to where Thunderkit was. Thunderkit had gotten skinnier and skinnier, and whenever he was awake he complained about his stomach. When he was given herbs, he just vomited them back up. Even when he was asleep, he moaned pretty much constantly.

"How is Thunderkit?" He asked, cautiously. He didn't want to annoy Echobreeze again.

"Worse." Echobreeze said.

"Will he-?" Treespirit's mew got caught in his throat. Thunderkit couldn't die!

He heard Echobreeze walk up to him. "StarClan willing, he won't die." Echobreeze's mew was comforting, but grief still clawed at Treespirit.

"Can't you do anything?" Treespirit asked.

"We've tried everything, Treespirit. He might be too sick." Echobreeze said.

"No! Thunderkit won't die!" Treespirit wailed.

"He might." Echobreeze said.

"Can't you use yarrow?" Treespirit asked.

"He's had yarrow several times. It doesn't help." Echobreeze said.

"But... It might work this time." Treespirit said.

"I'd like it to, Treespirit, but every time he vomits he only gets weaker and weaker." Echobreeze said.

Treespirit stared at Thunderkit. His chest barely moved at all. Treespirit noticed that a liquid was running out of his mouth. He looked like a newborn kit, not a two-moon-old one.

Thunderkit started moving, and his eyes opened. He woke up! Sure, he had opened his eyes before, but it felt like the first time time.

"Treespirit!" Thunderkit sounded happy as he realized that Treespirit was there.

"Hello, Thunderkit." Treespirit said.

"Will I get better?" Thunderkit asked.

"Probably not." Echobreeze said.

"Yes." Ivymist said. Treespirit realized she had just walked into the den.

"Ivymist, you know he won't." Echobreeze said.

"He will. There is a herb that grow in the bottom of the lake that will help." Ivymist said.

"How do you know?" Echobreeze asked.

"I observe things without noticing." Ivymist said simply.

"Should I go get it?" Echobreeze asked.

"If you want to. It grows under the tree that the other clans use to get to that island." Ivymist said. Echobreeze walked out of the den.

"I'm not sure what she thought she was doing telling a kit they wouldn't live." Ivymist said.

"What do you mean?" Treespirit asked.

"I've told her several times that you don't tell any cat that they're going to die. She disagrees, thinking that it's lying and that they deserve to know. Yes, they deserve to know, but would you prefer to die knowing or not knowing that you were going to die?" Ivymist asked.

"Not knowing." Treespirit said.

"Exactly. She claims she would rather know. I don't believe a word of it." Ivymist said.

"Why would you? Knowing you're going to die, even if it's only a few heartbeats before you actually do, has to be horrible. For somebody like Echobreeze, who became a medicine cat because of what somebody said in her warrior ceremony, you'd expect them to understand that." Treespirit said.

"Cats die. It will happen to every medicine cat, but the first time a cat does die while you're a medicine cat, you feel responsible somehow, like you missed something. But you just have to move on. Sometimes there isn't anything you can do, and you have to except that." Ivymist said.

"What do you mean? You said Thunderkit wouldn't die." Treespirit said.

"He will die. All cats die. Will he die now? No. Will he die? Inevitably." Ivymist said.

"Did Endlessheart feel like that when Blazebush died?" Treespirit asked.

"Yes." Ivymist said.

"Who was the first cat that died while you were a medicine cat?" Treespirit asked.

"Why is my history suddenly so interesting? Anyway, it was Moonface, actually." Ivymist said.

"It was?" Treespirit asked.

"No. It was actually Silentice. I wanted to see how long you would believe me." Ivymist said.

"How did he die?" Treespirit asked.

"Infected belly wound. Would you like to know how he got the wound, or can I go back to keeping my life somewhat private? Not like it is anymore anyway, with Twilightstar so willing to tell everyone everything he knows about me" Ivymist said.

"Sure." Treespirit said.

"He was battling a cat on a rock and he fell off and cut himself on a sharp rock. It didn't get clean fast enough, so it got infected. I didn't know what to do then, so he developed a fever. Well, actually, I did know, but I didn't know I was supposed to be helping Moonface, so the fever got worse and worse, and he died." Ivymist said.

"Did you know him... well, I mean? Not break-the-warrior-code well, but you should know what I mean." Treespirit asked.

"Yes. He was an apprentice when I was a kit. He actually did want me to break the warrior code, because he knew I wanted to be a medicine cat. I didn't love him. I don't love him. I know what the last thing he said was, but I claimed he died in his sleep." Ivymist said.

"Why did you lie? And why are you telling me this while Thunderkit is very clearly in earshot?" Treespirit asked.

"You both are my brothers, more so for Thunderkit, because of Morningflight and Twilightstar." Ivymist said.

"I guess you're right, but still, I don't tell Endlessheart and Echobreeze everything." Treespirit said.

"I never had a brother or sister. If I did, I would have never kept secrets from them. Well, there are some things you just don't tell other cats." Ivymist said.

"Actually, you did. Hawkkit and Larkkit." Treespirit said.

"For what, a few moments?" Ivymist said.

"They're your brother and sister in StarClan, aren't they?" Thunderkit asked.

"I don't believe in StarClan, but yes, they would be." Ivymist said.

Echobreeze walked in. "I got the herb, but it shriveled after a few moments out of the water." Echobreeze said.

"Did you take all of it?" Ivymist asked.

"No." Echobreeze said.

"Treespirit, grab Thunderkit. We're going to the herb." Ivymist said, walking out of the den. Treespirit grabbed Thunderkit and ran after her.

When they got to the lake, Echobreeze walked into the water. "Why haven't we been allowed to go to gatherings?" Treespirit asked when he set Thunderkit down.

"There's only been one. Possibly two, I don't actually know. The other clans respect us as a separate clan, so we're going to the next one as EarthClan." Ivymist said. (Two)

"I'm ready!" Echobreeze called. Treespirit grabbed Thunderkit and walked into the lake until she was right next to her.

"It's cold!" Thunderkit wailed.

"I know." Treespirit said.

"Thunderkit, you'll have to grab the herb in your jaws under water. You'll also have to eat it quickly if you come up." Echobreeze said.

"I can do that." Thunderkit said. Treespirit couldn't help but admire the two-moon-old kit's courage.

"Okay. The herb is in my paws. I'll guide your head to it, but when you feel it, you'll have to grab it in your jaws. Try not to come up unless you absolutely need to. Can you do that?" Echobreeze asked.

"Yes, I can." Thunderkit said. He put his head under water, and Treespirit could see the ripples of Echobreeze's paw moving.

Thunderkit came up. "I ate it!" He cheered happily.

"Good job!" Echobreeze said.

Treespirit picked up Thunderkit and ran out of the water.

When Echobreeze came out, she was shivering. "It's c-c-cold!" She stuttered, shivering. Ivymist started licking her fur back wards. Echobreeze sat down and sneezed.

"She might've been in for too long. She'll be fine, she'll just have to warm up. Echobreeze, you did a good job. You can become a full medicine cat." Ivymist said.

"I can?" Echobreeze asked.

"Yes. I couldn't hardly make you a full medicine cat for helping Dawnsight, but this is a much better reason to make you a full medicine cat. Also, I need to make Endlessheart, Greenpaw, and Cloudpaw full medicine cats. I also need to tell all of you guys something." Ivymist said.

"What?" Echobreeze asked.

"It's.. er... I only want to tell you guys." Ivymist said.

Echobreeze stood up. "Let's go back to camp." She said.

When they got back to camp, all of the four cats ran happily back to the medicine cat den. "Echobreeze, let's go now." Ivymist said.

"You need to tell all the medicine cats and you have to do it now. Treespirit and Thunderkit can hear it." Echobreeze said.

Ivymist left the den and came back a few moments later with all of the other medicine cats. "Only one of you can succeed me. I have chosen Endlessheart to be that cat. You are all awesome medicine cats, and your assistance here will always be honored. I won't die soon, but you all needed to know." Ivymist said.

Cloudpaw didn't look surprised at all. "I'm only a medicine cat because I can't be a warrior. I love being able to do it, but I would definitely be a warrior over this." Cloudpaw said.

"Thank you, Cloudpaw. I don't like doing this at all. You are all good at this. Greenpaw, what about you?" Ivymist asked.

"I'm leaving. I don't like clan life. I don't want to be like Pinestar, but I don't want to be a wild cat anymore." Greenpaw said.

"I respect your decision, Greenpaw. Did you tell Whitecloud yet?" Ivymist asked.

"He's known that I don't like clan life since I was a kit. He told me that I could leave if I wanted to. He knows that I was going to tell you this tonight. You guys are so important to me, though, I'm not sure if I actually want to leave or not." Greenpaw said.

"Don't rack your brain too hard, Greenpaw. Anyway, let's go to the Moonpool now." Ivymist said, walking out of the den, then stopped.

"Wait, I can only make one of you a completely full medicine cat. You can.. anyway, let's continue." Ivymist said.

When they got to the Moonpool, the cats stood against the outside. Treespirit stood up at the top, looking down at the moonpool.

"Now, I'm going to make up some things. Greenpaw, come forward." Ivymist began and Greenpaw came forward. "Greenpaw, you have shown yourself to be a very skilled medicine cat. Warriors of StarClan, I present to with Greenpaw. Greenpaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, and stand apart from rivalry between clan and clan, a protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?" Ivymist asked.

"I do." Greenpaw said.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your full medicine cat name. Greenpaw, from this day forward you will be known as Greenleaf. StarClan honors your persistence. We welcome you as a full medicine cat of EarthClan." Ivymist finished, and Greenleaf padded over to the side.

"Cloudpaw, come forward." Ivymist said. Cloudpaw came forward.

"Cloudpaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, and stand apart from rivalry between clan and clan, and protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?" Ivymist asked.

"I do." Cloudpaw said.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your full name as a medicine cat. Cloudpaw, from this day forward you will be known as Cloudpelt. StarClan honors your patience." Ivymist said. Cloudpelt padded over to Greenleaf (The season! You know, summer? Yeah, I just realized that Spell Check didn't catch it because I had already added Greenleaf to the dictionary. Anyway, on with the show!)

"Echobreeze, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, stand apart from rivalry between clan and clan, and protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?" Ivymist asked.

"I do." Echobreeze said.

"Then you will continue to be known as Echobreeze. Your name represents who you are, and I would never change it." Ivymist said.

"Endlessheart, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, stand apart from rivalry between clan and clan,and protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?" Ivymist asked. Treespirit noticed for the first time that Ivymist looked bored. _Well, of course she would. The words have no meaning to her, and she has to say them over and over. _Treespirit thought.

"Obviously." Treespirit muttered.

"I do." Endlessheart said.

"Then you will continue to be known as Endlessheart. Also, as you know, you will be the medicine cat when I die." Ivymist said.

"Ivymist-" Greenleaf began, but was cut off.

"I know. You will be known as Greenstem instead." Ivymist said. Cloudpelt, Greenstem, Echobreeze, and Endlessheart padded up to the Moon-pool. Ivymist nodded. They touched their noses to the moon-pool, and Ivymist jumped up to where Treespirit was watching.

"Wasted time for me." Ivymist said.

"Why don't you try anyway?" Treespirit asked.

"I can sleep back at camp. I don't need to freeze my nose off in the process." Ivymist said.

"It can't be that bad." Treespirit said.

"It is, Treespirit! You don't understand at all!" Treespirit was stunned by Ivymist's sudden rage.

"I can try." Treespirit said calmly.

"No, you can't! You can't begin to understand! You'd never understand! Your mind is too limited by your mouse-brained belief in StarClan! Those fox-hearts are evil if they exist, which they don't! You think their so awesome _because they're dead_!" Ivymist shouted.

"They are!" Treespirit said defensively. He didn't know that Ivymist's non-belief in StarClan was so strong.

"Sorry. Twilightstar told me to respect cats' belief in StarClan, but it's difficult when I don't understand what you see in them. They're just dead cats, and that's it." Ivymist said.

"But they can guide us. Most of them have seen a lot of stuff. Even the _kits_ in StarClan are wise." Treespirit said.

"If they're so wise, then why did they kill Moonface?" Ivymist asked.

"StarClan doesn't _kill _cats." Treespirit said.

"They killed Moonface! He died by the Moon-Pond!" Ivymist said.

"Maybe StarClan thought it was time for him to die. Humor me and go try to ask them." Treespirit said.

"Fine." Ivymist said, them leaped back down to the Moon-pool.

"Just don't expect to get any direct answers out of them!" Treespirit yelled down to her. Twilightstar had told him that StarClan hardly ever gave direct answers. Ivymist touched her nose to the Moon-pool.

After what seemed like seasons, the cats down by the Moon-pool started stirring. Ivymist was the first to be fully awake, and she leaped up to Treespirit.

"You were right about the direct answers. I'm more confused then I was before, but..." Ivymist lowered her voice. "I believe in StarClan again. Thanks. When we get back to camp, I want you to come with me to tell Twilightstar."

"Okay." Treespirit said. He had made Ivymist believe in StarClan again!

The other cats leaped up, too. Why didn't any of them take the path? Echobreeze walked over to Treespirit. "Why does Ivymist look so happy?" Echobreeze asked.

"I don't know." Treespirit lied.

"Okay." Echobreeze said.

When they got back to camp, Ivymist ran straight to Twilightstar's den. "What's got her so excited?" Echobreeze sounded only mildly interested.

"I don't know." Treespirit lied again, then ran to Twilightstar's den, too. Ivymist was waiting for him at the entrance. "Twilightstar!" Ivymist called through the willow branches that shielded Twilightstar's den from the rest of the camp.

"Come in, both of you." Twilightstar said. Ivymist and Treespirit walked into Twilightstar's den. They just stood awkwardly in the entrance.

"Stop acting like scared mice." Twilightstar said. Treespirit and Ivymist walked the rest of the way into the den and sat down. They sat quietly for what seemed like a long time, but must have only been a few moments.

"What's got your tongues? Or is coming into my den after Moonhigh a new way to have fun?" Twilightstar asked.

"Nervousness?" Treespirit offered.

"I don't bite. Well, I do, but not you." Twilightstar said.

"Ivymist, hurry up. We haven't got all night." Treespirit said

Ivymist opened her mouth, as if to say something, then closed it again.

"Am I really this intimidating?" Twilightstar asked.

"Sometimes." Treespirit said.

"Good." Twilightstar sounded pleased.

"I believe in StarClan now." Ivymist said.

"What did StarClan do? Poof you back to camp?" Twilightstar asked.

"No, Treespirit convinced me to ask them why Moonface died." Ivymist answered.

"He did die by the Moon-pond, didn't he?" Twilightstar seemed to be remembering something, then continued, "What did they say?"

"They said that it was time for a new medicine cat." Ivymist said.

"And? What does that have to do with StarClan? Couldn't a normal dream tell you that?" Twilightstar asked.

"I thought you believed in StarClan." Ivymist said.

"I do. How did that make you believe in StarClan?" Twilightstar asked.

"Treespirit told me that I shouldn't expect direct answers. I didn't get direct answers. Also, the answer made sense. Regular dreams wouldn't make sense." Ivymist said.

Twilightstar turned his gaze from Ivymist to Treespirit, then back again. "_I _told Treespirit that StarClan hardly ever gives direct answers. Where do you think he would get that idea for himself?" Twilightstar asked.

Ivymist looked thoughtful for a moment, then said: "I don't know."

"Exactly." Twilightstar said.

"There's something I want to talk about privately." Ivymist said.

"Okay. Treespirit, go see if Echobreeze wants to go on a hunting patrol with you." Twilightstar said.

"Echobreeze? Isn't she a medicine cat?" Treespirit asked.

"She has warrior training. Now, go, before i decide I want to claw your ears off!" Twilightstar yelled the last part.

Treespirit immediately ran out of the den, scared. Why had Twilightstar yelled at him?

**Two more chapters today, to make up for my vacation.**


	19. Chapter 19

"What did you want to talk about? Be quick, please. Treespirit won't take me yelling at him lightly." Twilightstar asked.

_I need to ask this. _Ivymist thought. "Do I have to be quick? Because if I do, what I want to talk about can wait for another time." Ivymist said.

"Tell me what you want to talk about, then I'll decide if we have enough time." Twilightstar said.

Ivymist wasn't sure she even wanted to talk about it anymore.

"Stop acting like a scared mouse, Ivymist. You're more sure of yourself in front of enemy warriors." Twilightstar said.

"Enemy warriors? If they aren't mouse-brains, I'd be dead before you could say 'mouse'." Ivymist said.

"Why? You have enough strength under your pelt to beat me." Twilightstar said.

"I want to talk about... I don't know how to describe it." Ivymist said.

"It is time that we talk about that, isn't it?" Twilightstar asked. There was a knowing in his gaze that Ivymist hadn't seen before.

"If you have to get to Treespirit first, then-" Ivymist began.

"No. I've waited long enough. We need to talk about it _now_." Twilightstar said.

"Don't you have to get Treespirit first?" Ivymist asked.

"No." Twilightstar said.

"I don't know what I want to know, honestly." Ivymist said.

"Do you want to know about when you were born?" Twilightstar asked.

"I guess." Ivymist said. "She was sick, wasn't she?" Ivymist asked.

Twilightstar nodded. "Moonface gave her a herb that forced her to kit." Twilightstar paused, and looked as if he was thinking of what to say next.

"Did he mention the name of it?" Ivymist asked.

"No. Anyway, by the time she was done, she was dying. She-" Twilightstar paused, and he looked at his paws.

Ivymist just stared at Twilightstar. She had never seen Twilightstar look so sad, and it actually kind of scared her.

"She what?" Ivymist asked.

"I can't talk about this right now, Ivymist." Twilightstar said in a tone that scared Ivymist even more. Than he yelled, "Get out of my den! I don't want to see you again! Treespirit can become Treestar for all I care, just get out of my den! Why are you still standing there?" Ivymist walked out of the den.

"Wait! Ivymist, come back!" Twilightstar yowled. Ivymist walked back into Twilightstar's den.

"I thought you didn't want to see me again." Ivymist said.

"It's just... hard to think about." Twilightstar said.

"Obviously." Ivymist said.

"You know a lot of this already, don't you?" Twilightstar asked.

"I only know what Moonface would tell me, which isn't all that much, I don't think." Ivymist said.

"Do you know anything about how you were named?" Twilightstar asked.

"Moonface said that Brightleaf died right after she named us." Ivymist said.

"Yes. Hawkkit and Larkkit died soon after because they were too weak." Twilightstar said.

"Anything else I should know?" Ivymist asked.

"Should? Probably. Need? No." Twilightstar said.

"Okay." Ivymist said.

"Can you go get Treespirit for me? I'd guess that he's in the warriors' den." Twilightstar said.

"Sure, but can't you talk to him tomorrow? He'll be asleep till sun-high at this rate." Ivymist said.

"No." Twilightstar said.

"He'll get sick if he doesn't get enough sleep. You _are_ talking to him tomorrow. And you _will not _be going to get him yourself." Ivymist said.

"Fine." Twilightstar said.

Ivymist woke up to a blade of light shining across her face. She got up and stretched, then walked out of the den to go get Treespirit.

She walked into the den, careful not to wake up anybody. They didn't normally go on dawn patrols with ThunderClan. Cloudstar expected them to hunt for themselves now that they were stronger, but still offered them fresh-kill sometimes.

When she saw Treespirit she walked over to him. "Treespirit! Wake up!" She whispered, prodding him in the side.

"What?" He said, blinking sleep out of his eyes.

"Twilightstar wants to talk to you." Ivymist said.

"Okay." Treespirit said. He looked hopeful.

Ivymist led the way out of the den, careful not to wake anybody.

"Go talk to Twilightstar." Ivymist said. Treespirit didn't respond, just ran over to Twilightstar's den. Ivymist waited until he disappeared inside to go back to the medicine cat den. She padded over to her nest, then curled up inside. She was still slightly tired from the night.

**Yeah, that was shorter than I would've liked. Still, one more chapter today!**


	20. Chapter 20

**I am making this chapter long to make up for today's and the third chapter I didn't upload yesterday.**

**Also, I want to mention that max saturday told me that Echobreeze's kits ARE biologically possible. Thank StarClan.**

"Hello, Treespirit." Twilightstar said.

"Ivymist said you wanted to talk to me." Treespirit said.

"So Ivymist did go get you. Good." Twilightstar said.

"What did you want to talk about, anyway?" Treespirit asked.

"I yelled at you." Twilightstar said.

"You scared me." Treespirit said.

"Sorry. I just wanted to get you out quickly. You did go hunting with Echobreeze, though, right?" Twilightstar asked.

"Yes. Would you really have clawed my ears off?" Treespirit asked.

"Do you think I would? I threaten other clans with that. Have I ever actually _done_ it?" Twilightstar asked.

"No." Treespirit said.

"Can I ask you something?" Twilightstar asked.

"Sure." Treespirit said.

"Do you think Eaglestar should join our clan?" Twilightstar asked.

"After what his clan did? No, I don't. I don't believe him." Treespirit said.

"I believe him." Twilightstar said.

"Why?" Treespirit asked.

"Because Lionclaw is dead. He was waiting for Lionclaw to die, because he didn't want Lionclaw to be leader. His clan doesn't listen to him. He told me he would tell me when Lionclaw died, and he did. I had a dream about it last night. He was actually _begging _me to let him join this clan."

"Do you trust Eaglestar?" Treespirit asked.

"Yes." Twilightstar said.

"Then he _should_ join our clan." Treespirit said.

"How could he, though? He is a leader." Twilightstar said.

"I'm sure StarClan could figure it out." Treespirit said.

"Do you think they could revoke lives, though?" Twilightstar asked.

"I don't know! Why don't you go ask them? I thought Sunstar only had eight lives because of Pinestar!" Treespirit said.

"Yes, but Eaglestar still has five lives left. Four just seems too little." Twilightstar said.

"It probably is. Why don't you ask StarClan?" Treespirit asked.

"I will. Tonight. We will go back to the mountains tomorrow." Twilightstar said.

"Are you going to tell the clan?" Treespirit asked.

"No, you are." Twilightstar said.

"Right now?" Treespirit asked.

"Yes. Right now they only need to know that we are going back tomorrow." Twilightstar walked out of the den. He heard Treespirit follow him.

"Will all cats above the age of three moons gather by the Rock Pile for a clan meeting!" Twilightstar yowled. He realized that this was one of the last times he would say "Rock Pile" instead of "Moonlit-Stone".

Once all the cats were gathered, Twilightstar began. He told Treespirit to come forward with his tail.

"Tomorrow we are going back to the mountains." Treespirit said.

"Finally!" Venomgaze cheered.

"Go about your duties as usual." Twilightstar said. The cats dispersed.

"We might as well leave now." Twilightstar said when Treespirit was the only cat in earshot.

"You mean to the mountains?" Treespirit asked.

"No, the Moonpool. I haven't been there, and I doubt the journey is clearly etched in your mind." Twilightstar said.

"Then why don't we? We have nothing to stop us." Treespirit said.

"We could probably follow your scent trail from last night." Twilightstar said.

"Let's go, then." Treespirit said.

"Okay." Twilightstar ran down the Rock Pile. He could hear Treespirit running after him.

Once they were outside ThunderClan's part of the camp, Twilightstar tasted the air for their scent. He found it easily, then ran along it, making no stops to check that Treespirit was still following. When he got to the moonpool, he sat down. He saw Treespirit sit down next to him.

"It's not even sun-high yet." Twilightstar said.

"Then maybe you should have walked instead of running." Treespirit said.

"Walking would have taken too long."

Finally, it was time for Twilightstar to go down to the Moonpool. He leaped down to where the actual -pool part was. He touched his nose to the freezing water, then fell asleep.

He woke up in a bright clearing. He pricked his ears when he heard pawsteps running through the woods. It was a cat he had met in StarClan before. "Hello, Fluffstar." Twilightstar mewed his greeting to the fluffy she-cat.

"Hello. You seem troubled." Fluffstar said. _Tell me something I don't already know. _Twilightstar thought.

"I am." Twilightstar said.

"You are worried about what we will do about Eaglestar, aren't you?" Fluffstar asked.

"Yes." Twilightstar said.

"Eaglestar will be fine. We will not mess with Shadowpelt's lives. He will have nine. Two nights after you return, you must go to the Moon-pond with Shadowpelt, Eaglestar, Willowtear, and Ivymist." Fluffstar said.

Fluffstar started to fade.

Twilightstar woke up by the Moonpool.

He jumped up to the top of the Moonpool, not bothering to take the path. "As usual, they refused to be of much help." He complained as he started running back to ThunderClan's camp.

_I should tell Cloudstar that we're leaving. _Twilightstar thought. "You should go rest. I need to tell Cloudstar that we're leaving." He told Treespirit.

"Okay." Treespirit said. Twilightstar walked to where Cloudstar's den was. It was on top of the Highledge. _Why do they need to use the rocks? Can't they just jump up? _Twilightstar thought as he easily leaped up onto the ledge. "Cloudstar!" Twilightstar called through the bramble tendrils.

EarthClan, along with the other mountain clans, have a very good jumping ability because of the unavoidable drop-offs that all of the territories have, and because jumping instead of walking up the mountain is sometimes easier.

Cloudstar walked out of the den. "What?" Cloudstar asked.

"We are going back to our camp tomorrow." Twilightstar said.

"Why?" Cloudstar asked.

"Because we can." Twilightstar said.

"Is that the only reason?" Cloudstar asked.

"We are strong enough to survive in our own territory now." Twilightstar said.

"Okay. Don't be afraid to come back." Cloudstar said, then walked back into his den.

Twilightstar walked back to his den. He laid down in his nest. He tried to go to sleep, but he sleep wouldn't come. Annoyed, he decided to go walk in the forest.

He got out of the camp without being questioned. It was cool outside the camp. Suddenly tired, he walked back to his den.

When he laid down in his den, he didn't feel tired anymore. "This is right." he mumbled to himself as he got up to go ask Ivymist if she knew what was wrong.

"Ivymist?" He prodded Ivymist in the side.

"What?" Ivymist asked.

"I can't sleep." He said. _That doesn't explain the problem, now does it? _He asked himself.

"Why bother telling me?" Ivymist asked.

"I don't know! Perhaps because I might need energy tomorrow?" Twilightstar asked.

"You're probably just worried. Whatever you could possibly have to be worried about, don't worry about it." Ivymist said.

"Okay." Twilightstar said. He walked out of the den, then ran over to his.

**He laid down in his nest and fell asleep very easily.**

**I am skipping the journey back. They are going to a gathering in this next part. Trust me, this next part of this chapter might get somewhat unlike the actual warriors series, but who cares?**

Twilightstar was standing on the Great Oak. So far, RainClan and EarthClan were the only two clans there. It was the first night after EarthClan had returned from ThunderClan. Their camp was pretty much destroyed when they got back, but they had rebuilt it.

NightClan and CloudClan arrived at about the same time. Eaglestar stood next to him. "So you came back?" Eaglestar asked.

"Yes." Twilightstar said.

"That did actually happen, didn't it?" Eaglestar asked.

"What?" Twilightstar asked.

"That dream." Eaglestar said.

"Yes." Twilightstar said.

"I'm going to join your clan right now, if that's okay." Eaglestar said in a hushed voice.

"Yes. Tomorrow bring Shadowpelt and Willowtear to the Moon-Pond with you. I will bring Ivymist." Twilightstar said with the same hushed voice Eaglestar had used.

"Why?" Eagestar asked.

"Just do it, okay?" Twilightstar said.

"Do either of you want to go first?" Willowstar asked.

"I don't have anything of importance to say." Twilightstar said.

"I want to get what I have to say over with." Eaglestar said.

"Whitestar?" Willowstar asked, turning to Whitestar.

"I don't care who goes first, as long as it's not you." Whitestar said.

"Okay." Willowstar said.

"Shouldn't you tell the other leaders first?" Twilightstar whispered.

"What do you think? Eaglestar asked.

"I think you should." Twilightstar said.

Eaglestar turned to the other two leaders. "I am going to join EarthClan." He announced, only loud enough so they could hear him.

"You can't! You're a leader! You can't do that!" Willowstar complained.

"Why can't I?" Eaglestar asked.

"Because StarClan gave you lives to serve NightClan!" Willowstar said.

"And? If they can give lives, don't you think they can take them, too?" Eaglestar asked.

"It's never been done before." Whitestar said calmly.

"Twilightstar? What do you think of this?" Willowstar asked.

"I am fine with it." Twilightstar said carefully.

"You might as well announce it now." Willowstar said to Eaglestar.

"Cats of the Mountain Clans!" Eaglestar yowled the call to bring attention to the leaders. I wanted to ask you if Shadowpelt knew about your decision, but I guess I won't get to. Twilightstar thought.

When all the cats were looking at the leaders, Eaglestar began.

"NightClan is fine. I am going to join EarthClan. Shadowpelt will be the new leader of NightClan." Eaglestar announced. Quick, aren't you? Twilightstar thought.

"I knew you weren't loyal to NightClan!" Some NightClan cat shouted.

"I tried to be loyal to NightClan. You just don't like the way I lead it. Twilightstar has agreed to let me join EarthClan." Eaglestar said.

"If he wasn't loyal to NightClan, what makes you think he will be loyal to EarthClan?" Venomgaze shouted.

"StarClan." Twilightstar said simply, waving his tail towards the sky.

"But he still has lives to serve NightClan!" A CloudClan cat shouted.

"You might want to at least mention the Moon-pond." Eaglestar hissed under his breath.

"I am going to the Moon-Pond tomorrow with Eaglestar, Shadowpelt. Willowtear, and Ivymist. If StarClan has anything to say, they will say it then." Twilightstar said.

"StarClan won't be okay with this!" A RainClan cat shouted.

"But StarClan is." Ivymist said.

"How do you know?" The same RainClan cat challenged her.

"The sky is clear." Ivymist said. All the cats looked up at the sky. Ivymist was right. The sky was clear. Twilightstar couldn't help but notice some of the medicine cats looking at her funny. They must know, then. Twilightstar thought.

"Ivymist is right! StarClan would have put clouds over the moon if they were displeased!" Treeheart, one of the medicine cats, shouted. To Twilightstar's surprise, the cats in the clearing yowled their agreement.

"Then the gathering will continue." Eaglestar said, moving back to signal he had no more to say.

Twilightstar stood there quietly. "You're next!" He heard Eaglestar hiss sharply. I have nothing to say. Twilightstar thought.

"EarthClan has nothing to report besides we have returned. Blazebush has died." Twilightstar said. He stepped back. I don't understand gatherings. Twilightstar thought.

Willowstar stepped forward. "RainClan has nothing to report either. This is a fascinating gathering." Willowstar said.

"Same here." Whitestar said.

The cats started to talk amongst themselves. "The gathering wasn't that bad." Twilightstar mewed, "After all, Eaglestar had something very interesting to report."

"It's my clan's fault!" Eaglestar retorted.

"No, Eaglestar. It's NightClan's." Twilightstar corrected.

"What? Oh, well, yes." Eaglestar said.

"Actually, Twilightstar," Willowstar mewed, "he is still leader of NightClan."

"For how much longer?" Twilightstar asked.

"About twelve of what twolegs call hours." Whitestar said.

"How do you know that?" Willowstar asked.

"I'm not a clan cat by blood, if you haven't noticed." Whitestar said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Yes, but Firestar didn't remember all that twoleg... stuff." Willowstar said.

"I just joined CloudClan five month- er, moons ago." Whitestar said.

"I'm quarter-clan!" Twilightstar stated proudly.

"That was random." Eaglestar said.

"It was, wasn't it?" Twilightstar asked.

"It was true, though." Willowstar said.

"Wouldn't he be half-clan, though?" Whitestar asked. "No. I have kin in all four clans." Twilightstar said.

"What is it like in ThunderClan?" Willowstar asked.

"I swear to StarClan I felt like horrible leader the entire time." Twilightstar admitted.

"There was no way you could have survived in your territory. It was all you could do. Although, I can see why you would feel like that. Anybody would." Willowstar said.

Eaglestar flicked his tail. "Like I said, I told them just to teach you a lesson. But did they listen? Not to Eaglestar!" Eaglestar said.

Willowstar and Whitestar looked at Eaglestar, surprised. "They don't listen to you? Is that why you want to join EarthClan?" Whitestar asked.

"They don't listen to me. No, that isn't why. I simply don't feel loyal to NightClan." Eaglestar said.

"Shadowpelt will be a good leader." Willowstar said.

"Good. I would hate for a cat like Lionclaw to become leader. It was bad enough with him as deputy!" Eaglestar said.

"What do you mean?" Whitestar asked.

"I didn't order the attack! I shouted some quick orders after them!" Eaglestar said.

"Lionclaw did, didn't he?" Willowstar asked.

"Yep. StarClan knows why NightClan is so... well, evil." Eaglestar said.

"I like the food shortage. It quieted the evilness." Willowstar said.

"For the most part, anyway." Eaglestar said.

"Anyway, how are things in your territory now?" Willowstar asked.

"I assume you are asking me this." Twilightstar said.

"Yes." Willowstar said.

"They've been better." Twilightstar said simply.

"That much was obvious." Willowstar said.

"You didn't ask me to get any more specific than that." Twilightstar said.

"There is enough on each of our territories?" Willowstar asked.

"Yes." Twilightstar and Eaglestar said immediately. Whitestar looked at the tree branch below her.

"Whitestar?" Willowstar asked.

Whitestar looked up. "Yes." He said.

"You don't have to lie, you know." Willowstar said.

"We have enough on our territory, okay? I'm not sure what you're worried about!" Whitestar snapped, leaping off the tree.

"CloudClan! We are leaving!" Whitestar shouted, running off in the direction of CloudClan's territory.

"Something is up with CloudClan." Willowstar said.

"It can't surprise you that Whitestar wouldn't want to tell us, though. He has always been trying to prove he can keep CloudClan strong." Twilightstar said.

"He probably doesn't realize that sometimes you need help from other clans." Willowstar said, then looked at Twilightstar. "He probably wouldn't have left, even if he needed to. We are going to figure out what's wrong. Come here the night after tomorrow." Willowstar said, leaping down from the tree, too. RainClan immediately turned and followed Willowstar out of the clearing.

"See you tomorrow." Eaglestar said, then leaped off the tree. Twilightstar followed him.

-The Moon-Pond-

Twilightstar, Eaglestar, Willowtear, Ivymist and Shadowpelt padded down through the tunnel to the Moon-Pond. When they got to the Moon-Pond, Ivymist sat down by the edge.

"StarClan doesn't bite." Willowtear said, a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Oh yeah." Ivymist said, standing up.

"Whatever happens, you must promise never to speak of it." Twilightstar said.

"Obviously." Eaglestar said, nodding his agreement.

All five cats touched their noses to the Moon-Pond. A shiver ran through Twilightstar, whisking him into sleep.

He woke up in a forest. Shadowpelt, Eaglestar, Willowtear, and Ivymist were there, too.

Eventually Fluffstar emerged into the clearing. "Hello." Fluffstar said.

"Hello." Twilightstar said.

Fluffstar examined the cats in the clearing. "Shadowpelt and Eaglestar? Ah, but Eaglestar still has five lives left. What to do with those? Why don't we give them to Shadowpelt?" Fluffstar asked.

"I... er... fine?" Eaglestar asked.

"Put your paw on Shadowpelt. How else are you supposed to give them to her?" Fluffstar asked.

"I don't know." Eaglestar said.

"Wait! Why are you the only one here?" Twilightstar asked.

"Am I? Well, I am the only cat who knows what to do with extra lives..." Fluffstar said.

"But if there are no other cats, Shadowpelt will only have five lives." Twilightstar said.

"Very good. Jaybelly, Cloudpelt, Treefrost! Come out!" Fluffstar yelled. Jaybelly, Cloudpelt, and Treefrost padded out from behind a bush.

Eaglestar put his paw on Shadowpelt's head.

"Hurts more when both cats are alive." Fluffstar warned.

"Nothing is happening." Eaglestar said.

"Of course! You must remember what lives you got?" Fluffstar asked.

"Of course, mouse-brain. How would you forget?" Eaglestar asked.

"Come on, then." Fluffstar said.

"I don't think I would say the same thing." Eaglestar said.

"Say whatever you want. Just mention that they're yours." Fluffstar said.

Eaglestar whispered something, from where Twilightstar was standing he could make out: "I give you my lives of..." And the rest was inaudible. A flash ran along Eaglestar's leg, and when it reached Shadowpelt's head, he collapsed. He stood up, then said: "That was.. painful." Eaglestar said.

"Technically, you are dead now." Fluffstar said. "But we'll worry about that minor issue later."

"Minor?" Eaglestar asked.

"Yes." Fluffstar said.

"Anyway, what should we do next?" Ivymist asked. "Somehow I remember believing in StarClan being more interesting."

"You're supposed to be quiet!" Willowtear hissed at her.

"No point if I still find no value in being here." Ivymist said.

"This is for Shadowpelt, Eaglestar and me. You're just here because StarClan wanted you to be, and," Twilightstar paused, "It may or may not be last leader ceremony you see. Until you die, anyway."

"I may choose not to see any after that unless I'm forced to. Anyway, continue." Ivymist said.

"Wait, why is this so private?" Shadowpelt asked.

"How would you know?" Eaglestar asked.

"We are the only four cats who accept your decision." Fluffstar said, then looked at Eaglestar, "We would have given Shadowpelt nine original lives, had this not been the case." Fluffstar padded up to Shadowpelt. "We might as well continue." Fluffstar said.

"Continue with what?" Shadowpelt asked.

"The normal leader ceremony." Fluffstar said. "Jaybelly, Cloudpelt, Treefrost, Eaglestar, and Shadowpelt! Willowtear, I guess you can come too." Fluffstar said.

Ivymist padded over to Twilightstar. "Have you noticed that it looks like Eaglestar is a StarClan cat?" Ivymist asked.

"No. Though I guess he would have to be dead..." Twilightstar trailed off.

"Dead? Why would he have to be dead?" Ivymist asked.

"Nothing." Twilightstar said.

Fluffstar, Shadowpelt, Willowtear, and Eaglestar padded back into the clearing.

"Eaglestar is now, well, Eagle for the time being." Fluffstar said.

"What's that supposed to mean? Don't think I haven't noticed! I have stars in my fur!" Eaglest- no, Eagle, said.

"Good job. You can see yourself. Twilightstar? It was your brilliant idea to ask Eagle if he wanted to join EarthClan." Fluffstar said.

"What am I supposed to do?" Twilightstar asked.

"I didn't think living cats were so mouse-brained. Give him a life, oh brilliant one." Fluffstar said.

"How?" Twilightstar asked.

"How do you think? The same way Eagle gave his to Shadowstar, perhaps?" Fluffstar asked.

"His name is now Eagleheart!" Twilightstar yowled angrily as he stomped over to Eagleheart.

"You better use this well." Twilightstar muttered as he put his paw on Eagleheart's head.

Fluffstar padded up to him. "Say what I do." She breathed in his ear.

"Just hurry up. This isn't a comfortable position." Twilightstar said.

"Calm down! Who put ants in your pelt?" Fluffstar asked.

"You." Twilightstar said. I didn't expect to lose my third life this way! Twilightstar thought irritably.

"You can say whatever you want, then. It doesn't matter to me. Nope, not helping, then." Fluffstar said, then walked away.

"Wait!" Twilightstar yowled.

"Nope. You don't need my help." Fluffstar said and continued walking.

Twilightstar moved his paw off Eagleheart's head. He ran after Fluffstar. Fluffstar started running, too.

He stopped when he realized Eagleheart was in front of him.

"You can worry about her later." Eagleheart said.

"I didn't mean to do anything! It's just... I don't know." Twilightstar said, then sat down.

"I am a bad leader, aren't I?" Twilightstar said.

He felt Eagleheart's tail on his back. "No, Twilightstar. You are a great leader." Eagleheart said.

"No, I'm not! Stop lying, all of you! I know when I don't need to be here!" Twilightstar yelled angrily.

"Twilightstar, do you think I was a good leader?" Eagleheart asked.

"Yes.. You were an awesome leader." Twilightstar said.

"Then I can be an awesome EarthClan warrior." Eagleheart said.

"Right." Twilightstar said, then stood up.

"This can stay between us, if it makes you feel any better. We can do it right here, if you want." Eagleheart said.

"Fine. It's just awkward." Twilightstar said.

"I did it, didn't I? Come on." Eagleheart said.

Twilightstar put his paw on Eagleheart's head. "I stay playful so my clanmates don't worry, even if they should. Use this life to be loyal to EarthClan, and keep them happy, like I do." Twilightstar said. A sharp pain coursed through Twilightstar, like he was dying. Well, of course. That's what you're doing, isn't it? Twilightstar scolded himself.

He stood up. He hadn't realized he had fallen down.

"Painful?" Eagleheart asked, amusement in both his gaze and his mew.

"You had the easy end of it!" Twilightstar yelled playfully.

"Good job." Twilightstar turned and realized that Fluffstar had walked into the clearing. "Though I will warn you: When Eagleheart dies, you will have the same injuries he does. You will survive them, luckily. Unless you're dead already."

"Great." Twilightstar said sarcastically. "Just what I need. Fatal wounds."

"At one point it was what you wanted." Fluffstar said.

"Can you answer something directly for once?" Twilightstar asked.

"Maybe." Fluffstar said.

"Was that right?" Twilightstar asked.

"What? Ivymist or just now?" Fluffstar asked.

"Ivymist." Twilightstar said.

"It didn't convince her that StarClan existed, so on the whole, no, I don't think so." Fluffstar said.

"Why didn't you answer it then?" Twilightstar asked.

"You seem to have forgotten why you are here. Eagleheart, you may go. I wish to speak with Twilightstar." Fluffstar said.

Eagleheart nodded respectfully, then ran out of the clearing. Fluffstar turned to look at Twilightstar.

"Was I watching you?" Fluffstar asked.

"When?" Twilightstar asked.

"Just now." Fluffstar said.

"Yes. You wouldn't ask if you weren't." Twilightstar said.

"Good." Fluffstar said.

"And?" Twilightstar asked.

"Was anybody else?" Fluffstar asked.

Twilightstar tasted the air. "I think Starstar was, or else she was here recently." Twilightstar said.

"Okay." Fluffstar said.

"Don't think I don't know where you're going with this." Twilightstar said.

"Don't doubt yourself, Twilightstar. You are a leader. Your clan trusts you. Never forget that. That is all I am going to tell you." Fluffstar said.

Twilightstar would have responded, but StarClan started fading. Twilightstar dug his claws into the ground.

He woke up on the freezing ground next to the Moon-pond.

"Hello." He said.

"Shadowstar." Eagleheart appeared to be trying out the name.

"What?" Shadowstar asked. "Or were you just saying it because you could?"

"I was saying it because I could." Eagleheart said.

"Strange. First to use it outside of StarClan, though." Shadowstar said.

"First to use it in, too!" Eagleheart said.

They walked out of the tunnel. When they got outside of the tunnel, they already had two different directions to go.

"Bye, Shadowstar." Eagleheart said.

"Bye." Shadowstar said.

Ivymist, Twilightstar, and Eagleheart started walking towards EarthClan. When they were on the path to EarthClan, Eagleheart stopped walking.

"What?" Twilightstar asked.

"Nothing." Eagleheart started walking again. Twilightstar could tell he was afraid of something. He couldn't explain it, but he knew. It seemed different than normal, though. (Quick! Guess what is going on and why it's happening. One way to describe it: Obvious plot is obvious.)

They got to the EarthClan camp with no other disturbances. Twilightstar couldn't help but notice Eagleheart was shaking slightly.

"What?" Twilightstar asked again.

"Nothing." Eagleheart said.

"Ivymist, thanks for coming with us." Twilightstar said.

"StarClan made me." Ivymist said before padding of toward the medicine cat den

"Something's got you spooked." Twilightstar said.

"It might just be the territory. NightClan's territory is a lot different, you know." Eagleheart said.

"It has a lot of caves, doesn't it?" Twilightstar asked.

"Yes." Eagleheart said. He looked around the camp.

"Still rebuilding?" He asked.

"Yes." Twilightstar said.

"It looks better than it did before." Eagleheart said.

"We're strengthening the wall around the camp." Twilightstar said.

"But bramble tendrils are easy to cut through! You should use rocks on the outside of it. Stays better." Eagleheart said.

"What about the inside instead?" Twilightstar asked.

"If somebody was invading, they wouldn't know where the rocks were. Or that they were there at all. Much better." Eagleheart said.

Twilightstar looked around the camp. "You see that rock over there?" Twilightstar asked.

"Yes." Eagleheart answered.

"There's a cave behind it that Ivymist made a nest in once when she was a kit. I'm pretty sure it's still in good condition. You can sleep there if you want." Twilightstar said.

"What, do you not trust me?" Eagleheart asked sarcastically, then added, "Thanks.", and padded off towards the rock that Twilightstar had pointed out. Twilightstar padded towards his den.

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own warriors. Obviously. If I did, why on earth would I be writing a FANfiction?**


	21. Chapter 21

**This is Twilightstar's perspective. Again? Yep. NOPE! I tricked you! Treespirit's, actually... I changed Moon-pond to Moonpond.**

Treespirit padded out of the warriors den. He looked at the pitiful fresh-kill pile. Treespirit had forgotten how little prey there really was here, and he couldn't stop staring at it.

"Staring won't make more prey appear there." Twilightstar's mew shocked Treespirit.

"If it did, then why would we bother hunting?" Treespirit asked.

"I don't know." Twilightstar said.

"I could go hunting." Treespirit offered.

"Yes, thanks. Can you take Eagleheart with you?" Twilightstar asked.

"Eagleheart is Eaglestar, right? Yes, but I don't know where he is." Treespirit said.

"Behind that rock." Twilightstar said, pointing towards the rock between the Medicine cat den and Nursery.

"Okay." Treespirit said, then ran over to the rock.

"Eagleheart!" Treespirit called through the bramble bush that he knew hid a cave. He had found it accidentally when he was a kit.

Eagleheart crawled through the bramble bush. Treespirit was surprised that he crawled through it so easily.

"What do you want?" Eagleheart asked. He sounded irritated, but the expression on his face showed respect.

"Twilightstar wants us to go hunting." Treespirit said.

"Okay." Eagleheart said.

"Follow me, I know a good place. Though if there is enough prey there to feed the kits, I'll be surprised." Treespirit said, then ran towards the entrance to the camp. He could hear Eagleheart running after him. He leaped up onto the ledge near the place that he was going to. Eagleheart just looked up at him. "I can't jump that high!" Eagleheart complained.

"Apprentices can make this easily." Treespirit said.

"Jumping isn't..." Eagleheart just barely made it onto the ledge, "... One of NightClan's strengths." He finished.

"Do you know how to hunt sand lizards?" Treespirit asked.

"Maybe." Eagleheart said.

"There is a nest over there. Go try to get one." Treespirit said, pointing to a hole in the sand.

"How am I supposed to get them in there?" Eagleheart asked.

"Use your brain. Try to get them out." Treespirit said. Eagleheart walked over to the hole. He brushed a bunch of sand in from the opposite side he was standing in. Several sand lizards scurried right into his paws. Treespirit ran over and helped him kill them.

"I could do it myself!" Eagleheart said angrily.

"It's part of the technique. And anyway.." Treespirit flicked his tail, "It was too many. They would have ran away if I hadn't helped." Treespirit flicked his tail again, "We can't afford to waste any prey."

"Well said." Eagleheart said, then looked around, "Is there another nest around here?" He asked.

"I don't know." Treespirit said.

"Didn't Twilightstar teach you how to sniff?" Eagleheart asked.

"Yes, he did. There might be a nest over there." Treespirit said, pointing towards a small cave in the rock.

Eagleheart walked over to the cave. "The smell of EarthClan is too strong." He commented, tough was still looking into the rock. "Treespirit! Come over here!" He shouted.

Treespirit ran over to the cave. "Look. There are claw marks on the walls, and there is blood on the walls, too." Eagleheart said. He sounded terrified.

"Go get Twilightstar. I'll stay here, in case the cat comes back. There are rogues living on our territory, I'm sure of it." Treespirit said.

Eagleheart didn't respond just respond, just ran off to go get Twilightstar. A few moments after he had left, he heard a shriek of a cat. Instinctively, he ran towards the sound.

He found Eagleheart battling a cat that looked like a rogue. "I'll get Twilightstar!" Treespirit shouted, then ran as fast a he could towards the camp.

"Twilightstar!" He shouted the moment he got into the camp.

"What?" Twilightstar asked calmly.

"Rogues!" he whispered, then motioned with his tail for Twilightstar to follow him.

They got to where Eagleheart was just in time. Twilightstar leaped down from the ledge they were standing on and knocked the rogue of Eagleheart's back, and leaped onto it and pinned it down. Treespirit followed and started clawing at the rogues front legs.

"Who are you and what are you doing on our territory?" Twilightstar spat at the rogue. Treespirit had never seen Twilightstar so angry.

"You're territory? I thought you left." The rogue said.

"Well, we came back! What are you doing on our territory?" Twilightstar asked again.

"I'm living here." The rogue said.

"What makes you think you can just live in our territory?" The anger in Twilightstar's mew was scaring Treespirit.

"Why can't I? You have plenty to go around." The rogue said.

"No, we don't! We were struggling before you came along!" Twilightstar mew was so scathing now that Treespirit jumped back.

Eagleheart crawled over to him.

The rogue flipped Twilightstar over. "Kill me! It won't make any difference! As long as you are taught as lesson!" Twilightstar appeared to have dropped all strategic swipes and was just clawing and biting at whatever part of the rogue he could reach.

"How dare you take from what is ours!" Twilightstar spat at the rogue.

Suddenly, he leaped away from the rogue. The rogue was barely moving.

"Serves him right!" Twilightstar spat. His claws were still unsheathed, and he was breathing hard. Treespirit just stared at Twilightstar in terror. Was his leader really this dangerous?

"We have to go back and warn the clan." Twilightstar appeared to have calmed down, and his claws were sheathed.

When they got back to the camp, Twilightstar immediately leaped onto the Moonlit-Stone. "Come here!" Twilightstar shouted. Cats immediately gathered to see what he had to say.

"Eaglestar, or Eagleheart now, ran into some rogues. The rogue is now dead, but NO CAT is to leave the camp unless they are in a group of three and at least two of them are warriors! Training will be done in the camp. If you are hunting, there must be at least two warriors watching to make sure you don't get attacked. We will strengthen the wall around our camp." Twilightstar said.

"Wouldn't it make more sense to go find a cave? It would be easier to defend." Eagleheart said.

"Yes, it would. We will go find it now. Treespirit, I want you to carry the kits. I know where one is. It should be big enough for us." Twilightstar leaped off of the Moonlit-Stone and walked over to Ivymist. Treespirit walked over to hear what he was saying.

"Take your herbs with you. We don't have time to gather any more." Twilightstar said.

"I'll ask Endlessheart and Echobreeze to help me carry them." Ivymist said.

Twilightstar turned around and looked at Treespirit. "Get the kits!" He said. Twilightstar walked to the entrance to the camp, and Treespirit walked over to the nursery.

"Echokit, Earthkit, Flowerkit, Cloverkit, and Thunderkit, hop on to Treespirit's back." Dawnsight said. The kits immediately did as they were told. Treespirit could feel their tiny claws digging into his pelt. He walked over to the entrance to the camp. Once all the cats were gathered by the entrance to the camp, Twilightstar started walking.

Eventually, they got to a cave. It had a small entrance that treespirit just barely fit through. Once all the cats were in the cave, Twilightstar looked around. "Venomgaze! Do you see that rock over there?" Twilightstar asked.

"Yes." Vanomgaze said.

"Move it over by the entrance. We will use it to block the entrance tonight. I am not taking any risks. You over there!" Twilightstar said, pointing to a group of cats, "Go get some bedding! Somebody needs to go hunting, too." Twilightstar said.

"What are you going to do?" Treespirit asked.

"I am going to talk with Eagleheart and you on how to defend this place." Twilightstar said. The cats started leaving the cave in groups to go hunt or get bedding. Eagleheart walked over to where Treespirit and Twilightstar were standing. Treespirit felt the kits leap off his back and start playing.

"You seem to have gotten it under control." Eagleheart said.

"How do you defend the... camp now that it's a cave?" Twilightstar asked.

"You could put brambles outside the rock. It would make it even harder to get in. Also," Eagleheart looked around the cave, that was now the camp, "The kits and apprentices should go in that corner, and there should be brambles around them, like a den. It will protect them. Also, if you put rocks behind the brambles on the inside, it will be even more defensive. The medicine den should be in that corner," Eagleheart said, pointing towards the corner opposite the one he had said the kits and apprentices should go in, "and be defended similarly. The warriors should sleep in that small dip in the center, and also be surrounded like that." Eagleheart finished.

"You see that small indent by the entrance?" Twilightstar asked.

"Yes." Eagleheart said.

"I will sleep there. If our defenses fail, I will be the first to know about it." Twilightstar said.

"Okay. Can I sleep in that indent over there?" Eagleheart asked, pointing to another indent.

"Sure. You can decide whether you want to defend it or not." Twilightstar said, than yowled to the returning patrol, "Gather a lot of rocks and brambles!" The patrol looked confused, but didn't question it as they set down the prey they were carrying in an indent in the floor. Twilightstar turned and looked back at Eagleheart.

"How would you fight in the cave?" Twilightstar asked.

"You would need to prevent yourself from getting cornered." Eagleheart said. He drew the cave with his tail. "For example, if you were stuck in this corner," He said, jabbing his paw at the corner opposite the corner with the entrance in it, "you would want to jump up and corner the enemy there. But considering our defenses, the enemy probably wouldn't be stupid. However," He said, looking around the cave, "they probably would be stupid enough to distract. You could distract them, then jump over them and corner them. You could pin them down if you wanted." Eagleheart finished.

"You know a lot about cave battling." Twilightstar said.

"I should! I spent my most of my life living in one!" Eagleheart said.

"How would you distract them, though?" Treespirit asked.

"If you had two cats, one could hiss at the attacker from behind. The attacker would probably turn around, giving you time to jump out." Eagleheart said. "This is basic stuff." He added.

"Though cave battling in general is advanced, isn't it?" Twilightstar asked.

"No more advanced than open moor battling." Eagleheart said.

"Still taking with that fox-hearted coward?" A cat sneered as they came back from a patrol. It was Lichenfrost

Eagleheart's fur bristled. "Do you want to die? Because without me, you and the clan you think you're defending would be gone!" He shouted at the cat. Treespirit felt Twilightstar tense. Treespirit heard him mutter "It's the truth of those words that hurts me the most." Twilightstar stood up.

"Yes, I am." Twilightstar's voice was strong, almost like a challenge, daring Lichenfrost to go on.

"I wouldn't trust him, if I were you." Lichenfrost said.

"Since when were you leader?" Treespirit asked.

"Never. I just don't trust NightClan." Lichenfrost said.

"Lichenfrost, do you understand how hard it must have been to leave NightClan, when you're a leader?" Twilightstar asked quietly.

"It can't have been hard for this fox-heart!" Lichenfrost said.

"You don't understand. I had five lives left, and I gave them to Shadowstar. Also, Twilightstar trusts me far more than your limited little brain could ever imagine. Why, may I ask, would I be telling secrets about NightClan's battle strategies, if I were spying for them?" Eagleheart asked.

Lichenfrost snorted. "Like those battle strategies actually work!"

"Lichenfrost, you think you are defending the clan. But you're not. These battle strategies are legitimate, just like Eagleheart's loyalty to EarthClan. Sure, it may not be worth mentioning loyalty right now. But I can tell you with utmost certainty that Eagleheart's loyalty lies in EarthClan." Twilightstar said.

"Twilightstar is right. I would never go back to NightClan. I left them with the best leader I could, while my loyalty still lied with them. I would do the same for EarthClan in a heartbeat." Eagleheart said "Would you?" He asked.

"How do you get that much loyalty to a clan that quickly?" Lichenfrost asked, clearly doubting what Eagleheart had said.

Twilightstar and Eagleheart glanced at each other. "I find loyalty to be very easy." Eagleheart said. "Catch a few pieces of prey, and you suddenly understand your importance. It feels more like a responsibility to me, really." Eagleheart held his gaze at Lichenfrost "How do you not?"

"I am loyal to EarthClan!" Lichenfrost said.

"Do you think I would doubt it? I apparently still have to prove my own!" Eagleheart said.

"Lichenfrost, you'd think differently if you knew that the entire way we're defending ourselves here, and the entire reason we are here in the first place, is because of what Eagleheart helped us with. I don't want to hear you questioning his loyalty again. Eagleheart will direct the building process, he understands it better than I do." Twilightstar said. Eagleheart walked over to the returning patrol and started directing them on what to do.

"Treespirit, I want to show you something." Twilightstar said.

"What if a patrol questions us?" Treespirit asked.

"I hope they won't question a leader and a deputy." Twilightstar said. He walked out of the cave. Once they got out of the cave, Twilightstar started running. Treespirit ran after him. His lounges needed air, but he didn't stop running. Eventually, Twilightstar stopped.

"We just have to go through these trees." Twilightstar said, pointing at a wall of trees. He walked through them. Treespirit could suddenly hear a loud roaring noise. "Look." Twilightstar said.

There was a waterfall that flowed into a gorge that had a pool at the end. Twilightstar leaped down into the water. He seemed perfectly calm. Treespirit jumped after him. The cold from the water shocked him, but he swam towards the small shore that Twilightstar was already standing on.

"Do you come here often?" Treespirit asked as he crawled out of the water.

"I used to." Twilightstar answered.

"Why don't you anymore?" Treespirit asked.

"I don't have enough time." Twilightstar said, "And anyway, I don't really need to."

"Need to?" Treespirit asked.

"I came here a lot when Brightleaf died." Twilightstar said, "No one can distract you, and you can get away from things."

"Why did you come here now?" Treespirit asked.

"I wanted to get out of clan territory for a while." Twilightstar said.

"Why? Wouldn't you need to be in clan territory right now?" Treespirit asked.

"By 'a awhile', Treespirit, I meant a few days. It just doesn't seem right, though. I feel like I need to be in that cave, but at the same time, I feel like I need to be far away from it. I need to defend the clan, yet somehow it seems like I always make it worse. The clan needs to trust their clanmates, but if there is a group of cats who trusts Eagleheart and a group who doesn't, there might be infighting, and that's just what we don't need right now." Twilightstar sighed, then sat down and leaned against the rock behind him. Treespirit sat down next to him.

"The clan will trust you, whatever you do. We got through being driven out, and we will survive again. EarthClan is strong, Twilightstar, whatever you might think." Treespirit said.

Twilightstar leaned on Treespirit. "Thank you." He said. Treespirit licked his head, then looked out over the water. The foam from the waterfall still flew out this far, and Treespirit watched the foam disappear. "It's you I should be thanking, Twilightstar. You have taught me so much. I don't know what I would do if I had had a different mentor. Or a different friend, for that matter." Treespirit said.

"I am your friend, aren't I? I guess I should have noticed that. I am glad. I can't imagine a better friend, Treespirit." Twilightstar said.

"We're going to have to do something about these rogues. We can't hide from them forever." Treespirit said.

"You're right. Does it seem like something is wrong with CloudClan to you?" Twilightstar asked.

"I could go see." Treespirit offered.

"I'm going to go to the Big Oak tonight to talk to the other leaders about it. It would be great if you would go do that." Twilightstar said. He stood up. "You'll have to leave now if you want to get back before I leave." Twilightstar said. He leaped up ledges, and Treespirit followed him.

Eventually, they got to the CloudClan border. "Be smart, Treespirit. If it seems like you've gone too far, leave." Twilightstar said.

"Okay." Treespirit said. He walked across the border. He didn't stop to turn around he was following the scent of CloudClan. Eventually, it got very strong. He saw the camp. He hadn't been challenged by any cat yet. He saw what he thought was the leader's den, then crawled stealthily until he was behind it. Through it, he saw Whitestar. "Whitestar!" He called through the wall. Whitestar turned around.

"Treespirit? What are you doing here?" Whitestar sounded more scared than frightening.

"I want to figure out what is wrong with your clan on Twilightstar's orders." Treespirit said.

"Tell Twilightstar that our clan is fine. We just have had a few troubles with rogues." Whitestar said.

"We've had troubles with a rogue. They don't seem very conscious of our borders. Twilightstar is very scared of them; he's brought us to a cave. I don't think these fears are just overreacting. I saw one of their dens. These are dangerous cats, Whitestar. You should go to the Big Oak meeting with Twilightstar and the other leaders. They were going to try to figure out what was wrong with your clan, but I can't imagine we're the only two clans experiencing these problems. The clans might have to unite as one to face them. They might not, but they might be enough of a problem." Treespirit said.

"Okay. I will go. Tell Twilightstar that we are having troubles with rogues, okay?" Whitestar asked.

"Yes. Bye!" Treespirit said. He ran all the way back to the cave, Twilightstar was waiting in the Indent he had said he would sleep in.

"Did you figure out what was wrong with CloudClan?" Twilightstar asked.

"Yes. They are having troubles with rogues, and Whitestar is going to the Big Oak, too." Treespirit reported.

"Thanks." Twilightstar said. He looked at the ground for a second, then looked up. "Treespirit, I need you to go to the Moon-pond. You might as well travel with me to the Big Oak. We should probably leave right now; I want to leave in daylight." Twilightstar said.

Twilightstar lead the way out of the cave. He ran all the way to the Big Oak clearing. "The Moon-Pond entrance is behind the Big Oak." Twilightstar said.

The other three leaders arrived almost at the same time. Treespirit avoided their gazes burning into his pelt and padded to the Moon-Pond entrance. He flinched at the sudden coldness, but padded on. Eventually, a little bit of light filtered through the ceiling. He had gotten to the Moonpond!

He waited until the pond was bathed in light, then touched his nose to the water, which whisked him into sleep.

He woke up in a clearing. There was a cat looking at him through the shadows. It stood up and padded out of the shadows.

"You are looking for answers, aren't you?" The cat asked.

"Yes." Treespirit said.

"Twilightstar made a great warrior out of you. I am Brightleaf, by the way." Brightleaf said.

"Hello." Treespirit said.

"We can't offer the answers you seek, Treespirit. It is outside of our control. You can defeat the rogues. They call themselves DuskClan, by the way. The clans will need the courage of the warriors of all of the clans to defeat the rogues. All I can tell you, Treespirit, is that the only division in the clans must be between those who want what is right for the clans, and those who don't. Please pass this on to the leaders." Brightleaf started to fade, and Treespirit woke up by the Moonpond. He ran out of the cave and into the Big Oak Clearing. He saw the leaders in the center of it. He ran over to them.

"Did they tell you anything?" Willowstar asked. "We have all been having troubles with these rogues."

"They said that the only division in the clans must be between those who want what is right for the clans, and those who don't." Treespirit said.

"Did they tell you anything else?" Willowstar asked.

"No." Treespirit said.

"I think that that message has a fairly obvious meaning." Twilightstar mewed.

"What?" Willowstar asked.

"The only way that there could only be one division in the clans is if we were all one clan." Twilightstar said.

"I think Twilightstar's right." Whitestar said.

"The clans have united before." Shadowstar said.

"Yes, but where would we go?" Willowstar asked.

"There is a cave that I think is big enough for all of our clans at the bottom of our mountain" Whitestar said.

"Should we come here at Sun-high or something?" Twilightstar asked.

"Right now. No point in putting it off. Bring your herbs with you, and if you can, bring your fresh-kill and some bedding, too." Willowstar said.

All three leaders nodded, then ran off towards their corresponding camps.

The minute Twilightstar got into the cave, he yowled "Come here!"

The cats immediately woke up and gathered by Twilightstar. "We are moving again. Grab bedding and fresh-kill. Ivymist, grab your herbs. Treespirit, carry the kits again. Somebody take some brambles!" Twilightstar yowled.

The kits immediately ran over to Treespirit and jumped on his back. All the cats were gathered at the entrance very quickly.

Treespirit lead the way down to the Big Oak Clearing. When they got there, NightClan was already there, along with RainClan. Treespirit smelled CloudClan walk into the clearing. "Follow us!" Whitestar shouted.

Eventually a cave came into view. Whitestar ran into it, followed by the cats of all the other clans. CloudClan set down the fresh-kill they had brought with them in small indent in the floor. The other cats who were carrying fresh-kill set it down in the same pile The leaders jumped on to a small rock in the back of the cave.

"Cats of the Mountain Clans!" Twilightstar yowled.

The cats looked up at the rock. " We are here because it is the easiest way to defend ourselves." Willowstar said.

"The kits and apprentices will go in that corner, along with the medicine cats. The warrior can go right there," Whitestar pointed to an indent in the cave wall that that had a dip in it, "And we will sleep right there." Whitestar pointed to an indent somewhat close to the entrance,

"Shadowstar and Eagleheart will organize the building of this place." Willowstar said, "It only makes sense."

"Eagleheart will, actually. I would like to discuss cave battling with the leaders and deputies." Shadowstar said, "We'll need to know how to defend ourselves here, and at this point, I couldn't care less about keeping our battle strategies secret. What use would our battle strategies be if we never got to use them?" Shadowstar said. The leaders lept down, and Treespirit walked over to where the leaders were. He recognized Shadedclaw, the NightClan deputy, Ledgefur, the CloudClan deputy, and Fishfur, the Rainclan deputy.

Shadowstar drew a drawing of the cave in the floor with her tail. "Cave battling is simply avoiding getting cornered while trying to corner your opponent." Shadowstar said. "You cave battle with two cats. If one of you gets cornered, the other can distract your opponent so you can jump out and corner your opponent." Shadowstar looked up at the ceiling. "This is a medium roofed cave. It's not too high, but it allows room for most battle techniques. Also, this cave has a rough edge, which is perfect for climbing, if you know how." Shadowstar said.

"Do you think climbing is that simple?" Willowstar asked.

"Yes." Shadowstar said.

The conversation continued for a while. "Treespirit, can I ask you something?" Twilightstar asked as the meeting broke up because the nests had been built.

"Sure." Treespirit said.

"Who did you talk to in StarClan?" Twilightstar asked.

"Brightleaf." Treespirit said.

"Really?" Twilightstar asked.

"Do you think I would lie? I know how important Brightleaf was... no, is, to you." Treespirit said.

"Go get some sleep. We've been up for a while." Twilightstar said.

"Okay." Treespirit was grateful for the chance to sleep. When he curled up in his nest, he fell asleep very quickly.

He woke up to the sound of other cats stirring. He got up and padded over to the fresh-kill pile. He found a sand lizard, and settled down by a small rock. A cat padded over to him. "Are sand lizards good?" The cat asked. Treespirit picked up her CloudClan scent. "I think so. Who are you, anyway?" He asked.

"Meadowpaw. Can I try some?" Meadowpaw asked.

"There should still be some in the pile." Treespirit said.

"They won't let me take any. I tried to take one, and a cat almost had my ears." Meadowpaw said.

"Well, I won't claw you. Here, try some." Treespirit said, pushing the sand lizard towards her. Treespirit got up and walked over to Twilightstar. "Is there anything I should do?" Treespirit asked.

Twilightstar look at Treespirit. "I was watching you. I don't think think there is, though." Twilightstar said.

"Why were you watching me?" Treespirit asked. He tried to hide the anxiety that he felt that Twilightstar had been watching him. He didn't like Meadowpaw, but he didn't want Twilightstar to think he did.

"I was bored. Be careful where you put your paws, Treespirit." Twilightstar said.

"Why?" Treespirit asked.

"It may have just been a friendly offering, but that could become much more. That sand lizard could cause terror you never imagined." Twilightstar said.

"I won't break the warrior code." Treespirit said.

"Oh yes, I know. It won't break the warrior code. But the other clans might think it does." Twilightstar said.

"Okay. Thanks for warning me." Treespirit said.

"Don't put your paws in water you can't swim in." Twilightstar said. "If you think you can swim, then I won't judge you. I won't judge you anyway." Twilightstar said.

"I don't-" Twilightstar cut him off, "You will, trust me." Twilightstar said.

**NO! I've been entranced by the forbidded love gimmick! Or the cross-clan love gimmick...**

**Anyway, yes, I know. The clans are untited and living together in a cave. NOTHING is could possibly go wrong... Or could it?**


	22. Chapter 22

**Some clarification is needed: Twilightstar-tom Whitestar-she-cat Shadowstar-she-cat Willowstar-tom. So yeahs...  
I originally... anyway, I think that Willowstar... oh well. So in case I use the wrong "He/she/her/his" You will be able to catch it...**

Treespirit was clawing at the ground in front of him. Again, Twilightstar was bored and was watching him.

"Are you bored?" Whitestar asked.

"To the point I have to watch my bored deputy to entertain myself." Twilightstar said.

"What exactly did you do to the rogue in your territory?" Whitestar asked.

"I lost my temper and killed it." Twilightstar said.

"Ah." Whitestar said.

"I wish there was more to do here." Twilightstar said.

"You could go watch the apprentices. Some of the moves they are learning are awesome." Whitestar said.

"I can see them from here." Twilightstar said.

"I have an idea!" Whitestar said.

"What?" Twilightstar asked.

"You could take some of the apprentices out and teach them some jumping moves on your territory. They're feisty as kits confined to the nursery!" Whitestar said.

"I don't think they should go out." Twilightstar said.

"Most of the apprentices are talking about 'shredding' the rogues." Whitestar said.

"They won't be 'shredding' anyone. The rogues aren't that easy to beat." Twilightstar said.

"But you killed one." Whitestar said.

"I know." Twilightstar said.

"You know something that you're not letting on." Whitestar said.

"Yes." Twilightstar said.

"What?" Whitestar asked.

"When I asked him what he was doing on our territory, he asked me what I meant by 'our territory', since we had left." Twilightstar said.

"So what happened after that?" Whitestar asked.

"I was mad at him." Twilightstar paused for a moment. "And I was actually kind of scared. I lost control, and it was like I wasn't fighting. It was like something was controlling me." Twilightstar said.

"Did you intend to kill the rogue?" Whitestar asked.

"If I had to." Twilightstar said. "Though I'm not sure what difference it would have made. They clearly are a big group."

"Are you still scared of them?" Whitestar asked.

"I don't know. I can't tell." Twilightstar said.

"What do you mean?" Whitestar asked.

"Fear and anger feel pretty much the same to me." Twilightstar said.

"Ah." Whitestar said.

**A FEW MEADOWXTREE DAYS LATER... (This won't turn out well...)**

Twilightstar was watching Treespirit. Again. He was looking for something, and (Quick! take a wild guess!) Twilightstar guessed he was looking for Meadowpaw.

"I'm glad I have such an ignorant deputy." Twilightstar muttered as he leaped down from a rock now called the "Clan Rock". He padded over to Treespirit.

"Forget what I said earlier." Twilightstar said.

"You said that you wouldn't-" Twilightstar cut him off.

"I didn't think that you would become so ignorant! You slept with her last night!" Twilightstar growled.

"At least I'm not quarter-clan scum like you are!" Treespirit yelled.

"I am not scum!" Twilightstar yelled.

"If you weren't you wouldn't be so heartless!" Treespirit yelled.

"Fine! Don't come running to me when your life is all messed up! I wasn't the one that made such a mouse-brained decision!" Twilightstar noticed that Treespirit looked hurt. Good. Maybe that will teach him. Twilightstar thought. Treespirit ran off, and Twilightstar leaped back on to the rock, still bristling.

Suddenly, Twilightstar felt hurt. Treespirit had called him quarter-clan scum. Is that really what Treespirit thought of him? He curled up and rested his head on his paws and put his tail over him nose. He closed his eyes. He wasn't just scum, was he? Or was that all he was? He pushed that thought away. He wasn't scum! But he still felt hurt that Treespirit thought he was scum.

"You do realize that your nest is more comfortable?" Twilightstar recognized Willowstar's voice.

Twilightstar opened his eyes. "Yes." He said.

"Then why don't you go there?" Willowstar asked.

"That would require walking through the warriors' nests." Twilightstar said.

"And why would that be a problem?" Willowstar asked.

"I don't want to get any closer to Treespirit than I have to." Twilightstar said.

"I thought Treespirit was your friend." Willowstar sounded surprised.

"Was, yes. But as far as I'm concerned, he isn't anymore." Twilightstar said.

"What happened, then? You two seemed like such close friends." Willowstar said.

"We were, until that CloudClan scum asked Treespirit what sand lizards taste like." Twilightstar said.

"Meadowpaw? Yes, I know. She is a nice cat, Twilightstar. Hardly fits the title of 'scum'." Willowstar said.

Twilightstar stood up slowly. "If I fit the title of scum, then so does Meadowpaw." Twilightstar said.

"What makes you think you fit the title of scum?" Willowstar asked.

"Treespirit called me quarter-clan scum. But technically, aren't I half-clan? My parents weren't half-clan, they just changed clans. They would have to be half-clan from two different sets of clans for me to be quarter-clan, wouldn't they?" Twilightstar asked.

"Yes, but you have kin in all four clans, Twilightstar. Your blood is spread out in all four clans." Willowstar said.

"Don't tell me I have another littermate I didn't know about!" Twilightstar said.

"As far as I know Moonface is the only littermate you have." Willowstar said.

"And Dawnsight." Twilightstar flicked his tail, "It only makes sense that I would have another one."

Willowstar stopped pacing along the rock and stared at Twilightstar. "Dawnsight is your littermate?" Willowstar asked.

"Yes." Twilightstar said.

"Do you think you are scum?" Willowstar asked.

"Treespirit does. It's not so much that I believe him, but that he thinks I am scum. I don't always agree with him, but I need his friendship back." Twilightstar said.

"Then go talk to him. He appears to need it, too." Willowstar said.

"Okay." Twilightstar ran down to where he saw Treespirit.

"Treespirit, I need to talk to you." Twilightstar said.

"No, you very desperately want. Anyways, do you want to go anywhere?" Treespirit asked.

"Yes, there is a small cave behind the rock." Twilightstar said, and then ran off towards the rock. When they were both in the cave, Twilightstar stared at Treespirit for a while.

"I'm sorry for calling you quarter-clan scum." Treespirit said on one breath.

"I am just as sorry for yelling at you before." Twilightstar said. Treespirit looked at Twilightstar. Treespirit walked over to stand next to Twilightstar. Twilightstar nuzzled him. "I don't care what you do, Treespirit. Not in this case, anyway." Twilightstar mewed.

"You don't?" Treespirit asked.

"No." Twilightstar said.

"Thanks." Treespirit said.

"No problem." Twilightstar said.

**Oh... It turned out well. How... touching. And how.. FRIGGIN MUCH LIKE FIRE AND ICE WHEN... **

**anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Can somebody tell me what a "One-Shot" is? I feel like it's something I should know... **


	23. Chapter 23

**This chapter is Treespirit's perspective... It's just a very important time in both of their storylines. Twilightstar and Treespirit, I mean.**

Treespirit and Twilightstar were still sitting in the cave. They had been sitting silently for a while, lost in their own thoughts.

Eventually, Willowstar appeared at the entrance. "Are you going to sleep there or are you coming to your nest?" Willowstar's question appeared to be directed at Twilightstar.

"If it's all right, I would like to sleep here." Twilightstar said calmly.

"Okay." Willowstar said, then left.

"You do want to mentor Thunderkit, don't you?" Twilightstar asked. He appeared to be staring intently at the wall.

"When he's old enough, yes." Treespirit said.

Twilightstar shifted his paws. "Treespirit?" Twilightstar asked.

"What?" Treespirit asked. Twilightstar appeared to have forgotten he had spoken at all. Treespirit walked over and laid down next to him. Treespirit started licking Twilightstar's paw. Eventually, Twilightstar's breathing slowed and Treespirit could tell he was asleep. Treespirit put his head down on Twilightstar's paw, and fell asleep to the sound of Twilightstar's breath.

Treespirit woke up because he could hear cats stirring outside. He got up and nudged Twilightstar. Twilightstar got up. "Thanks." Twilightstar said.

"For what?" Treespirit asked.

"A lot of things." Twilightstar said, then walked out of the cave. Treespirit thought about that for a moment.

He found Twilightstar, and walked over to him.

"Ah. I was looking for you." Twilightstar said.

"I was just behind that rock with you. Twilightstar, what happened to your mind?" Treespirit asked.

"Yes, no, what?" Twilightstar looked thoroughly confused.

"Is there anything I should do?" Treespirit asked.

Twilightstar appeared to be lost in his thoughts. Treespirit rolled his eyes. Could Twilightstar do anything? He asked himself angrily as he walked over to Whitestar.

"What?" Whitestar asked.

"I'm not sure. Nor is Twilightstar." Treespirit said, pointing his tail at Twilightstar, who was now staring intently at the ceiling, and he appeared to be talking to it.

"I see he's lost it." Whitestar said.

"What was your first clue? Staring intently at the ceiling or talking to himself?" Treespirit asked.

"I think it's the combination." Whitestar said.

"Twilightstar doesn't normally lose it, though." Treespirit said.

"Well, get leading. His sanity isn't coming back anytime soon. I'd get him to the medicine cats, if I were you." Whitestar said.

"But you're not me, are you?" Treespirit asked.

"So you're just going to let him stand there?" Whitestar asked.

"Of course I am. I want this moment to last as long as possible. Twilightstar, staring at the roof of the cave." Treespirit said.

"Yes, but what is that doing for the Clans?" Whitestar asked.

Treespirit nodded and ran over to Twilightstar. "Twilightstar?" Treespirit asked.

"What?" Twilightstar asked. He moved his gaze from the ceiling to Treespirit.

"What were you doing?" Treespirit asked.

"What were you doing?" Twilightstar repeated the question.

"I don't know." Treespirit said.

"I was staring at the roof of the cave." Twilightstar said.

"Why?" Treespirit said.

"I don't know." Twilightstar said.

"Is there anything I should do?" Treespirit asked.

"Tell me how old Thunderkit is." Twilightstar said.

"I assume you know this?" Treespirit asked

"Yes, I just wondered if you do." Twilightstar said.

"Three and half moons, as of yesterday." Treespirit said.

"Should Earthkit, Echokit, Thunderkit, Cloverkit, and Flowerkit all become apprentices at the same time?" Twilightstar asked.

"They were only born half a moon apart, so yes." Treespirit said.

"Can you go on a hunting patrol?" Twilightstar asked.

"Yes." Treespirit said.

Willowstar walked over to them. "Meet us by that cave, Twilightstar." Willowstar said.

"Okay." Twilightstar said, then walked off with Willowstar.

A few moments later, Treespirit heard the "Cats of the mountain clans!" call. Treespirit sat down where he was and looked at the great rock.

"As of now, we are one clan. We will call ourselves MountainClan" Willowstar announced. The cats didn't respond, they just looked confused.

"Ah. Yes, we have not forgotten there are four of us. MountainClan has four divisions, EarthClan, RainClan, CloudClan, and NightClan. Is any cat here not proud to serve their clanmates?" Willowstar asked.

"Good." Willowstar said when no cat objected.

**The End! Yep, that's it for this book... This is what the summary will be like for the next book:**

One moon has passed since the events of "The Breeze". The annoucement of MountainClan is still fresh on everybody's mind, and it has been agreed that when the rogues are defeated they will become their seperate clans again. Twilightstar and Treespirit face and opstical no cat could ever have forseen, and the clans realize the rogues may be far more dangerous than they thought...


End file.
